HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 1,992 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. $JILL

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,724 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,992 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.76% of J.Jill worth $2,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JILL. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of J.Jill by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 144,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,208 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of J.Jill by 51.2% during the fourth 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. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in J.Jill by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,044 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in J.Jill by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,511,000 after purchasing an additional 18,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J.Jill Stock Up 5.1%

JILL opened at $16.9870 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $259.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 0.55. J.Jill, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.36 and a twelve month high of $34.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.42.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The specialty retailer reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88. The firm had revenue of $153.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.90 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 46.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 25th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 25th. J.Jill’s payout ratio is presently 14.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on JILL shares. BTIG Research set a $30.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.25.

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.