Analysts Set J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Price Target at $18.00

Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.00.

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on J.Jill from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $18.00 target price on J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 22.5% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,204,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,650,000 after purchasing an additional 221,218 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of J.Jill in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,431,000. Fund 1 Investments LLC grew its position in J.Jill by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 936,248 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,707,000 after purchasing an additional 173,785 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in J.Jill by 931.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 147,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 133,558 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 13.5% in the second quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 1,057,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,479,000 after buying an additional 125,838 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.Jill Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:JILL traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.76. 103,989 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 110,667. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.84 and its 200-day moving average is $15.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.33 million, a P/E ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.94. J.Jill has a 12-month low of $13.32 and a 12-month high of $28.94.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $150.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.38 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 36.33%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.Jill will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 24th. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.61%.

J.Jill Company Profile

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.