Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $48.30, but opened at $58.53. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $59.14, with a volume of 1,074,073 shares trading hands.

The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. Signet Jewelers’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.73 EPS.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SIG. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 1,046.3% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 1,889,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724,592 shares during the last quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 862.5% during the 4th quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 1,762,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579,410 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,989,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 2,648.8% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 304,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,538,000 after purchasing an additional 292,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,055,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,155,000 after purchasing an additional 286,974 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.48, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.89 and a 200-day moving average of $78.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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.