Royce & Associates LP Acquires 99,390 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. $JILL

Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,303,493 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,390 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.09% of J.Jill worth $17,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 83.1% during the 3rd 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 valued at $56,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of J.Jill during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 11,210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Stock Performance

NYSE:JILL opened at $12.70 on Wednesday. J.Jill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.40 and a 1 year high of $18.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.31 million, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 0.89.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $138.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.55 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 4.68% and a return on equity of 30.77%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.Jill, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 14th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 14th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of J.Jill from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of J.Jill from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of J.Jill from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.25.

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.