J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) from a strong sell rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on JILL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $18.00 target price on J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on J.Jill from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

J.Jill Stock Performance

JILL stock opened at $16.29 on Monday. J.Jill has a 1-year low of $13.32 and a 1-year high of $26.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $246.14 million, a PE ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.83.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.18. J.Jill had a return on equity of 36.33% and a net margin of 5.60%.The company had revenue of $150.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 24th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 24th. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.61%.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in J.Jill by 83.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in J.Jill during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in J.Jill by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in J.Jill by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 2,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in J.Jill in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.Jill Company Profile

J.Jill is a women’s apparel retailer specializing in modern, versatile clothing and accessories. The company designs and markets a range of products that emphasize comfort and style, including knitwear, woven tops, pants, dresses, outerwear, jewelry, and footwear. Through its in-house design team, J.Jill focuses on creating seasonal collections that appeal to women seeking effortless, mix-and-match wardrobes.

Products are sold through a multi-channel distribution network comprising company-operated boutiques, e-commerce platforms, and catalog sales.