J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.17.

A number of analysts recently commented on JILL shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on J.Jill from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of J.Jill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

J.Jill Stock Up 2.1 %

JILL stock opened at $26.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.21 million, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. J.Jill has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $40.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.90 and its 200-day moving average is $30.14.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. J.Jill’s payout ratio is 9.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $192,359.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,773,745.52. The trade was a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Claire Spofford sold 6,601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total value of $189,778.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,652,095. The trade was a 3.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,341 shares of company stock worth $517,038. 6.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JILL. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in J.Jill in the second quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in J.Jill by 58.4% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.