Mark Webb Sells 2,074 Shares of J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Stock

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) EVP Mark Webb sold 2,074 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total value of $42,164.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 174,679 shares in the company, valued at $3,551,224.07. This trade represents a 1.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

J.Jill Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of JILL stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.60. 41,789 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 73,902. J.Jill, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.40 and a 52-week high of $20.89. The stock has a market cap of $292.96 million, a P/E ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.21.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 10th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $144.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.30 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 3.56% and a return on equity of 24.44%. Equities analysts predict that J.Jill, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 24th. J.Jill’s payout ratio is currently 26.28%.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JILL. Fund 1 Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 96.8% in the second quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,328,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $21,090,000 after purchasing an additional 653,645 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,208,000 after purchasing an additional 8,172 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in J.Jill by 12.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in J.Jill in the first quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in J.Jill in the 4th quarter worth approximately $347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JILL. William Blair cut J.Jill from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, J.Jill has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.50.

About J.Jill

J.Jill is a women’s apparel retailer specializing in modern, versatile clothing and accessories. The company designs and markets a range of products that emphasize comfort and style, including knitwear, woven tops, pants, dresses, outerwear, jewelry, and footwear. Through its in-house design team, J.Jill focuses on creating seasonal collections that appeal to women seeking effortless, mix-and-match wardrobes.

Products are sold through a multi-channel distribution network comprising company-operated boutiques, e-commerce platforms, and catalog sales.