Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.60.

Signet Jewelers Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of Signet Jewelers stock opened at $99.98 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.67. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.12. Signet Jewelers has a 1 year low of $72.26 and a 1 year high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is 13.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.63, for a total value of $332,066.79. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,598,848.55. This trade represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 3,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.67, for a total value of $353,303.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 775,345 shares in the company, valued at $78,829,326.15. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,957 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,306. Insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period.

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.