J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $24.50 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on J.Jill, with five hold ratings and two buys; the average 12-month price target is $24.50.
• J.Jill reported quarterly EPS of $1.24, beating the $0.57 consensus estimate, while revenue of $154.83 million also exceeded expectations.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.09, equivalent to a 1.5% annualized yield, while insiders sold 68,287 shares worth approximately $1.53 million during the latest quarter.

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

JILL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up from $16.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded J.Jill from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of J.Jill from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of J.Jill from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th.

J.Jill Price Performance

NYSE JILL opened at $24.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $361.44 million, a PE ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $21.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.30. J.Jill has a 52-week low of $10.40 and a 52-week high of $25.14.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The specialty retailer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.67. J.Jill had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 28.51%. The company had revenue of $154.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.26 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. J.Jill's payout ratio is presently 20.11%.

Insider Activity at J.Jill

In related news, EVP Mark Webb sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.28, for a total transaction of $582,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 121,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,341.04. This represents a 17.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elliot Staples sold 13,287 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.20, for a total transaction of $321,545.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 60,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,458,534. This trade represents a 18.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,529,280. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JILL. 1492 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in J.Jill during the 1st quarter worth $258,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in J.Jill by 12.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,129 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in J.Jill by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,496 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,208,000 after buying an additional 8,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC raised its stake in J.Jill by 96.8% in the second quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,328,949 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $21,090,000 after buying an additional 653,645 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.Jill Company Profile

J.Jill, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on women's apparel, footwear and accessories. The company designs and sells casual, comfortable and versatile clothing intended primarily for women in their 40s and beyond, with product offerings that include tops, sweaters, dresses, pants, jackets and seasonal collections.

J.Jill serves customers through a combination of retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels, including its e-commerce website and catalogs. Its merchandise is marketed under the J.Jill brand and is designed to support a coordinated wardrobe, with an emphasis on fit, ease and everyday wear.

Founded in 1959, the company operates primarily in the United States.

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