Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

SIG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $120.20.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 4.9 %

SIG stock opened at $100.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.68, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 2.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.72. Signet Jewelers has a 52 week low of $57.10 and a 52 week high of $109.17.

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

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Signet Jewelers

In other Signet Jewelers news, insider Oded Edelman sold 7,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.36, for a total value of $833,502.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,706.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Signet Jewelers news, insider Oded Edelman sold 7,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.36, for a total value of $833,502.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,706.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 5,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total transaction of $486,237.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,409,044.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,254 shares of company stock valued at $4,460,394 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SIG. Eminence Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,962,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,976,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 38.3% in 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. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,826,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 719,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,645,000 after purchasing an additional 151,121 shares in the last quarter.

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.