J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

JILL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on J.Jill from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of J.Jill from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

J.Jill Stock Up 3.1%

JILL opened at $15.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.99 million, a P/E ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.64. J.Jill has a one year low of $13.36 and a one year high of $30.40.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 8th. The specialty retailer reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. J.Jill had a return on equity of 40.48% and a net margin of 6.12%.The company had revenue of $150.20 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that J.Jill will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in J.Jill by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 107,650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 3,631 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,313,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 768,127 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,002,000 after acquiring an additional 192,096 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in J.Jill in the 1st quarter worth approximately $122,000. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Company Profile

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.