Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 507,857 Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 507,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,989,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.17% of Signet Jewelers as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,150,441 shares of the company's stock worth $92,852,000 after buying an additional 182,948 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 309,129 shares of the company's stock worth $24,950,000 after purchasing an additional 76,966 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,070 shares of the company's stock worth $10,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,174 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,418,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,756,075 shares of the company's stock worth $181,122,000 after purchasing an additional 16,912 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SIG has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $70.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Signet Jewelers

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk acquired 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 50,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. The trade was a 42.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Signet Jewelers Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SIG traded down $2.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $56.75. 214,884 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,127,534. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.53, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 12-month low of $45.55 and a 12-month high of $112.06. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $53.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.34.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.73 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers's payout ratio is currently -168.42%.

Signet Jewelers Profile

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile.