Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SIG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Friday, June 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.20.

Signet Jewelers Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE SIG opened at $77.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.29. Signet Jewelers has a 52-week low of $65.12 and a 52-week high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 13th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 32.51% and a net margin of 10.91%. Signet Jewelers’s quarterly revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In related news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.94, for a total value of $293,191.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,418 shares in the company, valued at $2,587,018.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.94, for a total value of $293,191.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,587,018.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rebecca Wooters sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.34, for a total value of $271,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 90,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,175,227.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,439 shares of company stock worth $4,809,869 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SIG. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 75,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,099,000 after purchasing an additional 23,926 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter worth about $342,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,075,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 65,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,049,000 after acquiring an additional 14,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers during the fourth quarter worth about $343,000.

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.