Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Insider Selling

Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $50.81 and last traded at $51.58, with a volume of 46815 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.75.

Specifically, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SIG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Signet Jewelers from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.20.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.91, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,436 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 111,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 13,769 shares during the period. Shay Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the fourth quarter worth $484,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares during the period.

About Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile.