Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $128.00 to $152.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Signet Jewelers traded as high as $109.15 and last traded at $109.05, with a volume of 323647 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.43.

SIG has been the subject of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut Signet Jewelers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Signet Jewelers news, insider William Brace sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $297,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 75,664 shares in the company, valued at $7,490,736. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Signet Jewelers news, insider William Brace sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $297,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 75,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,490,736. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.93, for a total value of $3,357,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 932,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,477,748.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,435 shares of company stock worth $8,987,931. 4.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the company's stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 6,174 shares of the company's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,941 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,824 shares of the company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.44 and a 200-day moving average of $90.22.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $6.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 11.30%. Signet Jewelers's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Signet Jewelers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.14%.

Signet Jewelers Company 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.