J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $18.00 price objective on J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th.

J.Jill Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of JILL opened at $16.82 on Thursday. J.Jill has a 1-year low of $13.32 and a 1-year high of $26.03. The company has a market capitalization of $254.15 million, a P/E ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.81.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $150.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.38 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 36.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 24th. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.Jill

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fund 1 Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 22.8% in the second quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 936,248 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,707,000 after purchasing an additional 173,785 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in J.Jill in the 2nd quarter worth $426,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in J.Jill by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 201,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,946,000 after acquiring an additional 7,404 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of J.Jill during the fourth quarter valued at about $232,000. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

About J.Jill

J.Jill is a women’s apparel retailer specializing in modern, versatile clothing and accessories. The company designs and markets a range of products that emphasize comfort and style, including knitwear, woven tops, pants, dresses, outerwear, jewelry, and footwear. Through its in-house design team, J.Jill focuses on creating seasonal collections that appeal to women seeking effortless, mix-and-match wardrobes.

Products are sold through a multi-channel distribution network comprising company-operated boutiques, e-commerce platforms, and catalog sales.