J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Declares Dividend Increase - $0.09 Per Share

Key Points

• Dividend increase: J.Jill raised its quarterly dividend to $0.09 (a 12.5% increase from $0.08), payable April 28 to shareholders of record April 14, implying an annualized yield of about 3.2%.
• Stock plunge: Shares fell roughly 24.5% to $11.30 on heavy volume, trading near their 52-week low and valuing the company at about $171 million.
• Q1 results & dividend coverage: The company beat expectations with EPS of -$0.02 versus a -$0.12 consensus and revenue of $138.4M, and a low dividend payout ratio (~8.6%) suggests the dividend is currently covered by earnings.

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 14th will be given a dividend of 0.09 per share by the specialty retailer on Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 14th. This is a 12.5% increase from J.Jill's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08.

J.Jill has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.5%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. J.Jill has a dividend payout ratio of 8.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect J.Jill to earn $3.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.8%.

J.Jill Stock Down 24.5%

Shares of NYSE:JILL traded down $3.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 685,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 67,917. J.Jill has a fifty-two week low of $10.45 and a fifty-two week high of $19.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $170.67 million, a PE ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.92.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.10. J.Jill had a return on equity of 36.33% and a net margin of 5.60%.The business had revenue of $138.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.55 million. As a group, research analysts expect that J.Jill will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JILL shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of J.Jill from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

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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