Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.20.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a 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, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total value of $756,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 200,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,993,817.08. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 63.3% during the 2nd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 6,579 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,704,000 after buying an additional 35,174 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,853,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 30,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after acquiring an additional 14,775 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at $977,000.

Signet Jewelers Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SIG opened at $57.29 on Tuesday. 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 has a 12-month low of $54.44 and a 12-month high of $112.06. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 6.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 2.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.79 and a 200 day moving average of $86.96.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Signet Jewelers will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is 13.35%.

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.