UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Stock

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $85.00 to $89.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on SIG. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 3.8 %

NYSE:SIG opened at $58.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. Signet Jewelers has a one year low of $45.55 and a one year high of $112.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Signet Jewelers will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIG. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 149.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 832.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Company Profile

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.