J.Jill, Inc. $JILL Stock Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,641,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 190,828 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.11% of J.Jill worth $39,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JILL. Fund 1 Investments LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $21,090,000 after buying an additional 653,645 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new stake in J.Jill in the third quarter valued at $591,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in J.Jill by 843.9% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 41,834 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 37,402 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in J.Jill by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 8,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in J.Jill by 12.7% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Price Performance

NYSE JILL traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.30. 154,780 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 207,331. The stock has a market cap of $331.39 million, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.86. J.Jill, Inc. has a one year low of $10.40 and a one year high of $25.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.51 and a 200-day moving average of $17.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were issued 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 presently 20.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JILL. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of J.Jill in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of J.Jill from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price (up from $16.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of J.Jill from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.Jill currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.Jill

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

J.Jill Profile

J.Jill, Inc. is a women’s apparel retailer focused on comfortable, versatile clothing and accessories. Its merchandise includes apparel, footwear and accessories designed for everyday wear. The company uses an omnichannel model, selling through its retail stores, website and catalogs. J.Jill traces its roots to a New England catalog business established in 1959. J.Jill primarily serves customers in the United States through its stores and digital channels.