Brokerages Set J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) PT at $15.50

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair cut shares of J.Jill from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, June 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JILL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position 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 buying an additional 8,172 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 12.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,499 shares during the period. 1492 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill during the first quarter worth approximately $258,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill during the fourth quarter worth approximately $347,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of J.Jill in the 4th quarter valued at $150,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Price Performance

JILL stock opened at $18.09 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.87. The stock has a market cap of $270.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.87. J.Jill has a fifty-two week low of $10.40 and a fifty-two week high of $19.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $144.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.30 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 24.44% and a net margin of 3.56%. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.Jill will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is 26.28%.

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.