Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Trading Up 3.4% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) were up 3.4% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $57.87 and last traded at $58.22. Approximately 228,287 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,048,343 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.30.

The newly announced 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 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -168.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SIG. UBS Group boosted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.60.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.31.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. Signet Jewelers’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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 owns 22,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the third quarter worth about $254,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in Signet Jewelers by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 15,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 3,461 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 40.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 4.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 669,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,093,000 after acquiring an additional 30,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000.

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.