Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $112.00.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Signet Jewelers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Signet Jewelers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Thursday, March 19th.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIG. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 87.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,183 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 33.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 849,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,333,000 after acquiring an additional 213,365 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 9.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 122,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,117,000 after acquiring an additional 10,964 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 55.4% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 171.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period.

Signet Jewelers Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:SIG opened at $85.76 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.22 and a 200-day moving average of $92.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.20. Signet Jewelers has a twelve month low of $59.90 and a twelve month high of $110.20.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.11 by $0.14. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 4.32% and a return on equity of 22.22%. The business had revenue of ($4,468.50) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 10.3 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.95%.

About Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers Ltd is the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry, operating a diversified network of retail stores across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its portfolio includes well-established banners such as Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda, offering customers a range of shopping environments from suburban malls to high-street locations.

The company’s product assortment encompasses engagement rings, wedding bands, fine fashion jewelry and timepieces, complemented by services including jewelry cleaning, repairs, appraisals and extended care plans.