Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.20.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.93, for a total value of $3,357,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 932,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,477,748.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider William Brace sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $297,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 75,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,490,736. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.93, for a total value of $3,357,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 932,740 shares in the company, valued at $89,477,748.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,685 shares of company stock worth $8,912,661. 4.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,181,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,370,000 after purchasing an additional 31,035 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,323,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,272,000 after acquiring an additional 51,397 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,843,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,386,000 after acquiring an additional 179,321 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,769,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,610,000 after acquiring an additional 42,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,262,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,445,000 after purchasing an additional 349,771 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of SIG stock opened at $95.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.39, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.48. Signet Jewelers has a twelve month low of $57.10 and a twelve month high of $109.17.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $6.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by $0.40. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 11.30% and a return on equity of 32.26%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Signet Jewelers’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is 6.14%.

About Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile.