Jefferies Financial Group Cuts J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Price Target to $20.00

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has lowered its price target for J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) from $22.00 to $20.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating, which suggests a potential upside of 22.29% from the stock's last closing price.
• J.Jill's recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.81, surpassing estimates and indicating a net margin of 5.72% with revenue of $153.99 million for the quarter.
• The stock has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a consensus price target of $24.75, highlighting mixed market sentiment amid varying ratings from different brokerages.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 22.29% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on JILL. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of J.Jill from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $30.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.75.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, reaching $16.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 200,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,765. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.90 million, a P/E ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $15.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.00. J.Jill has a 12-month low of $13.36 and a 12-month high of $31.44.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.09. J.Jill had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 46.94%. The business had revenue of $153.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.02 million. Research analysts forecast that J.Jill will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JILL. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,592,886 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $43,996,000 after acquiring an additional 91,545 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY increased its holdings in J.Jill by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 1,057,300 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $15,479,000 after buying an additional 125,838 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC increased its holdings in J.Jill by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 936,248 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $13,707,000 after buying an additional 173,785 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in J.Jill by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 768,127 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $15,002,000 after buying an additional 192,096 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP increased its holdings in J.Jill by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 270,921 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,291,000 after buying an additional 36,255 shares during the period. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.Jill Company Profile

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.

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