J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Stock Position Reduced by Boston Partners

Boston Partners trimmed its position in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 138,312 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,479 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in J.Jill were worth $3,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in J.Jill by 502.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 77,144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 64,335 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of J.Jill by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 31,265 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,167,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in J.Jill by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 6,202 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in J.Jill by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,079 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.20.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JILL opened at $18.02 on Friday. J.Jill, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.31 and a 12-month high of $40.61. The company has a market cap of $276.40 million, a PE ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $94.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.33 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total transaction of $132,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 132,205 shares in the company, valued at $3,512,686.85. This trade represents a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.