J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Stock Price Passes Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)’s share price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.45 and traded as high as $19.28. J.Jill shares last traded at $18.8150, with a volume of 33,129 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JILL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $14.00 price target (up from $13.00) on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings raised J.Jill from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

J.Jill Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $281.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.05.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $144.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.30 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 3.56% and a return on equity of 24.44%. On average, analysts forecast that J.Jill, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 24th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 24th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. J.Jill’s payout ratio is presently 26.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 83.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of J.Jill by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in J.Jill in the 4th quarter valued at $150,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in J.Jill by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

About J.Jill

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.