J.Jill, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.07 (NYSE:JILL)

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 4th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.07 per share by the specialty retailer on Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th.

J.Jill has a dividend payout ratio of 7.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect J.Jill to earn $3.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.7%.

J.Jill Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JILL opened at $26.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 0.64. J.Jill has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $40.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JILL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of J.Jill from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on J.Jill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.17.

Insider Activity at J.Jill

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.98, for a total transaction of $134,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 151,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,887.76. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $192,359.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,773,745.52. This trade represents a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,341 shares of company stock worth $517,038. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

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.