J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JILL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of J.Jill from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of J.Jill from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in J.Jill by 83.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 11.7% in 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 period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 4th quarter worth $150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Trading Up 4.5%

NYSE JILL opened at $12.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.71. The company has a market capitalization of $180.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.89. J.Jill has a 12 month low of $10.40 and a 12 month high of $18.80.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $138.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.55 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 4.68% and a return on equity of 30.77%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that J.Jill will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 14th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 14th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.78%.

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.