J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.09 Per Share

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.09 per share by the specialty retailer on Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 14th. This is a 12.5% increase from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08.

J.Jill has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.5%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. J.Jill has a dividend payout ratio of 8.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect J.Jill to earn $3.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.8%.

J.Jill Stock Down 24.5%

JILL stock opened at $11.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $170.67 million, a PE ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.92. J.Jill has a 1 year low of $10.45 and a 1 year high of $19.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JILL. Zacks Research cut J.Jill from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $18.00 price objective on J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.Jill presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

J.Jill Company 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.