J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Shares Bought by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 51.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in J.Jill were worth $80,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JILL. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 15.5% in the fourth 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. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 204.2% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,660 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 5,813 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,267 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 76.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 6,202 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 restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, J.Jill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.20.

J.Jill Stock Up 6.4%

Shares of JILL opened at $16.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $258.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.02. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.37 and a 52 week high of $40.61.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.33 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.12%.

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.