Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Position in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 235,802 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,061 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.54% of J.Jill worth $6,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JILL. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in J.Jill during the third quarter valued at about $256,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in J.Jill by 76.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,363 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 6,202 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in J.Jill by 13.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 149,052 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,616,000 after purchasing an additional 17,744 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in J.Jill by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,079 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in J.Jill by 186.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 106,856 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 69,511 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.Jill presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.20.

J.Jill Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JILL traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 87,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,714. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.30 million, a PE ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.60. J.Jill, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.37 and a 52 week high of $40.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.98.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $94.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.33 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from J.Jill's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. J.Jill's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.12%.

About J.Jill

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.