Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 42,908 Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,908 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.26% of Signet Jewelers worth $9,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Signet Jewelers by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 309,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,950,000 after purchasing an additional 76,966 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter valued at about $319,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 202,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,326,000 after acquiring an additional 9,559 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 2,411 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 177.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 22,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 14,224 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SIG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In other news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $180,415.29. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,565.76. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

Signet Jewelers stock opened at $58.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 52-week low of $45.55 and a 52-week high of $112.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is presently -168.42%.

About Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile.