Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.32 Per Share

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share on Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a 10.3% increase from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Signet Jewelers has increased its dividend by an average of 29.0% per year over the last three years. Signet Jewelers has a payout ratio of 11.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Signet Jewelers to earn $8.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.0%.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

NYSE:SIG traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $56.31. 2,293,428 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,062,951. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.66. 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 $45.55 and a 12 month high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. Signet Jewelers’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.73 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Signet Jewelers

In related news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

About Signet Jewelers

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.