Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Raises Position in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in J.Jill were worth $1,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JILL. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in J.Jill by 196.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in J.Jill by 58.4% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of J.Jill by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,079 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 3rd quarter worth about $256,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 10,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of JILL opened at $23.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $364.09 million, a P/E ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.69. J.Jill, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.18 and a 12-month high of $40.61.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The specialty retailer reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.09. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 71.30%. Equities research analysts expect that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.Jill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $131,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,744,257.65. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $192,359.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,773,745.52. The trade was a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,341 shares of company stock worth $781,538 in the last ninety days. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.