J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

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

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JILL opened at $15.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $229.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.00. J.Jill has a one year low of $13.36 and a one year high of $30.40.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 8th. The specialty retailer reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 40.48%. The company had revenue of $150.20 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.Jill by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 96,406 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after acquiring an additional 17,966 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,313,000. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in J.Jill by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 270,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,291,000 after buying an additional 36,255 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in J.Jill by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 107,650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,102,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 10.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,604 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. 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.