Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 2,633 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in J.Jill were worth $752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of J.Jill by 539.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 304,273 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,640,000 after acquiring an additional 256,687 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of J.Jill in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,120,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of J.Jill by 109.3% in the second quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 346,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,130,000 after acquiring an additional 181,116 shares during the period. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in J.Jill in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,147,000. Finally, Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC purchased a new stake in J.Jill in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,749,000. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Trading Down 0.7 %

JILL stock opened at $25.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $384.09 million, a PE ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.61. J.Jill, Inc. has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $40.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.89.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $155.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.13 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 90.61%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 1,348 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.10, for a total value of $36,530.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 105,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,535.20. The trade was a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JILL. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of J.Jill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of J.Jill from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, J.Jill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

J.Jill Company Profile

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.