Royce & Associates LP Buys 221,218 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. $JILL

Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 22.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,204,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 221,218 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 7.91% of J.Jill worth $20,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in J.Jill by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 3.7% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 23,682 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 40.0% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 11,210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,205 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 30.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 20,121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 4,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.Jill by 39.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,010 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 5,406 shares during the period. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JILL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $18.00 target price on J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

J.Jill Price Performance

JILL stock opened at $17.29 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $261.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.92. J.Jill, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.32 and a 12-month high of $23.98.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $150.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.38 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 36.33% and a net margin of 5.60%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

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

J.Jill Profile

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.