Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,296 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in J.Jill were worth $2,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in J.Jill by 186.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 106,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 69,511 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 28.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,473,000 after buying an additional 31,265 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of J.Jill during the 3rd quarter worth about $606,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of J.Jill by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 149,052 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,616,000 after buying an additional 17,744 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 3rd quarter valued at about $290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.Jill

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total value of $132,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 132,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,512,686.85. This 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.20.

J.Jill Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of J.Jill stock opened at $18.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.49. J.Jill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $40.61. The company has a market capitalization of $286.18 million, a P/E ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.55.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $94.75 million during 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given 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 1.72%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.12%.

About J.Jill

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.