D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 9,458 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,307 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 9,458 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.27% of J.Jill worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in J.Jill during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in J.Jill by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in J.Jill by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in J.Jill during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,000. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of J.Jill stock opened at $16.06 on Friday. J.Jill, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.37 and a 12-month high of $40.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.60.

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

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a positive change from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JILL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J.Jill presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.