O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,423 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned 0.18% of J.Jill worth $743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in J.Jill by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,079 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 106,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 78,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,167,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in J.Jill by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,267 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of J.Jill by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 54,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.Jill currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.20.

Insider Activity at J.Jill

In other J.Jill news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $131,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,744,257.65. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL opened at $15.60 on Wednesday. J.Jill, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.45 and a 12-month high of $40.61. The stock has a market cap of $237.82 million, a P/E ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.58.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $94.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.33 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. As a group, research analysts predict that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.12%.

J.Jill Profile

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.