Fund 1 Investments LLC Buys 653,645 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. $JILL

Key Points

• Fund 1 Investments LLC nearly doubled its J.Jill stake in the second quarter, adding 653,645 shares to own 1.33 million shares, or approximately 8.89% of the retailer.
• Other institutional investors also increased positions, bringing total hedge fund and institutional ownership to 40.71% of J.Jill’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: J.Jill has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $16.50, despite slightly beating quarterly earnings and revenue expectations.

Fund 1 Investments LLC grew its stake in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL - Free Report) by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,328,949 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 653,645 shares during the period. J.Jill accounts for 3.5% of Fund 1 Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Fund 1 Investments LLC owned about 8.89% of J.Jill worth $21,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in J.Jill by 83.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,483 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,211 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the fourth quarter worth about $150,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of J.Jill by 11.7% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,908 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of J.Jill by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,417 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JILL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on J.Jill from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings raised J.Jill from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.Jill from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of J.Jill from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.50.

J.Jill News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting J.Jill this week:

• Positive Sentiment: J.Jill plans to open a new store at Maple Tree Place in Williston, Vermont, modestly expanding its physical retail footprint and potentially supporting future sales growth. J.Jill to open new store at Maple Tree Place in Williston
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest reported quarter modestly exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $0.45 versus a $0.44 consensus estimate and revenue of $144.43 million versus expectations of $144.30 million. J.Jill also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: J.Jill will release second-quarter fiscal 2026 results before the market opens on September 9, followed by an investor conference call. The report could become the next major catalyst as investors look for evidence that sales trends and profitability are stabilizing. J.Jill to Report Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst downgraded J.Jill from “Buy” to “Hold,” citing an 8.7% decline in first-quarter comparable sales, weakening revenue and profits, and management’s expectation of continued near-term softness. Full-year guidance calls for revenue to decline 0%–2% and EBITDA of $70 million to $75 million. The broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with a $16.50 target price below recent trading levels. J.Jill Deserves A Downgrade As Fundamentals Worsen
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Mark Webb sold a combined 4,522 shares for approximately $91,418 at prices between $20.12 and $20.33. Although the sale reduced his holdings by only about 2.5% across the disclosed transactions and he still owns a substantial stake, insider selling can be viewed as a mild confidence signal against the stock.

Insider Transactions at J.Jill

In related news, EVP Mark W. Webb sold 3,745 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total value of $76,023.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 173,048 shares in the company, valued at $3,512,874.40. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 11,158 shares of company stock worth $225,984 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

J.Jill Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:JILL opened at $19.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $296.33 million, a P/E ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $17.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.26. J.Jill, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.40 and a 12-month high of $20.89.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $144.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.30 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 3.56% and a return on equity of 24.44%. Equities analysts anticipate that J.Jill, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 24th. J.Jill's payout ratio is 26.28%.

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.

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