80,048 Shares in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 80,048 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,211,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fund 1 Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of J.Jill by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 298,429 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,243,000 after purchasing an additional 96,982 shares in the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its position in J.Jill by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,592,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,996,000 after buying an additional 91,545 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 921,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,446,000 after buying an additional 285,715 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of J.Jill by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,079 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Stock Up 3.2%

J.Jill stock opened at $16.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. J.Jill, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.37 and a 1-year high of $40.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.43. The company has a market capitalization of $253.47 million, a P/E ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.60.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 71.30%. The firm had revenue of $94.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.33 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is an increase from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JILL. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on J.Jill from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, J.Jill currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.40.

J.Jill 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.