J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Stock Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)’s stock price crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.98 and traded as low as $22.40. J.Jill shares last traded at $22.4820, with a volume of 164,095 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised J.Jill from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on J.Jill from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $16.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of J.Jill in a report on Monday, October 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.Jill has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.50.

J.Jill Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.24. The company has a market capitalization of $334.08 million, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.86.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The specialty retailer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.67. The company had revenue of $154.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.26 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 28.51% and a net margin of 4.62%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that J.Jill, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 23rd. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark W. Webb sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.52, for a total value of $122,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 113,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,583.96. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elliot Staples sold 13,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.20, for a total value of $321,545.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 60,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,458,534. This represents a 18.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,287 shares of company stock worth $1,651,880. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in J.Jill in the 3rd quarter valued at about $591,000. Fund 1 Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of J.Jill by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,328,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $21,090,000 after purchasing an additional 653,645 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in J.Jill by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,208,000 after purchasing an additional 8,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in J.Jill by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on women’s apparel, footwear and accessories. The company offers relaxed, versatile clothing designed primarily for women age 40 and older, with product categories that include dresses, tops, sweaters, pants, jackets, intimates and accessories.

J.Jill serves customers through a multichannel model that includes its retail stores, e-commerce website and direct-mail catalogs. Its merchandise is marketed under the J.Jill brand and is available primarily in the United States, with the company emphasizing comfort, fit and coordinated wardrobe collections.

The company traces its roots to 1959, when it began as a catalog retailer.