J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

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

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair lowered shares of J.Jill from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of J.Jill from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,303,493 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $17,884,000 after buying an additional 99,390 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY lifted its holdings in J.Jill by 13.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 125,838 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $3,208,000 after purchasing an additional 8,172 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in J.Jill by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 203,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in J.Jill by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 195,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after purchasing an additional 5,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of J.Jill stock opened at $14.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.60 and a 200 day moving average of $14.55. The firm has a market cap of $220.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.92. J.Jill has a 1 year low of $10.40 and a 1 year high of $18.80.

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

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.