Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for J.Jill (NYSE:JILL)

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $31.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 30.61% from the company’s previous close.

J.Jill Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE JILL opened at $23.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.09 million, a P/E ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.69. J.Jill has a 52-week low of $23.18 and a 52-week high of $40.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The specialty retailer reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.Jill

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,744,257.65. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,188 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,341 shares of company stock valued at $781,538. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of J.Jill by 1,507.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,736 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in J.Jill by 196.6% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in J.Jill by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.