William Blair Has Pessimistic Outlook of J.Jill Q2 Earnings

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) – Equities researchers at William Blair reduced their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for J.Jill in a note issued to investors on Thursday, March 20th. William Blair analyst D. Carden now expects that the specialty retailer will earn $1.03 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.12. The consensus estimate for J.Jill’s current full-year earnings is $3.36 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for J.Jill’s Q3 2026 earnings at $0.95 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.27 EPS.

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. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. The business had revenue of $94.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.33 million.

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J.Jill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.17.

J.Jill Stock Performance

NYSE JILL opened at $18.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $277.44 million, a PE ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.37 and a 200-day moving average of $25.40. J.Jill has a 52-week low of $17.82 and a 52-week high of $40.61.

Institutional Trading of J.Jill

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP raised its stake in J.Jill by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,592,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,996,000 after purchasing an additional 91,545 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY raised its position in shares of J.Jill by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 921,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,446,000 after buying an additional 285,715 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 576,031 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,910,000 after acquiring an additional 153,568 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of J.Jill by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 298,429 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,243,000 after acquiring an additional 96,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in J.Jill by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 235,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,511,000 after acquiring an additional 18,061 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.Jill news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total transaction of $132,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 132,205 shares in the company, valued at $3,512,686.85. This trade represents a 3.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.89%.

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.