Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $82.32, but opened at $80.24. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $80.71, with a volume of 43,669 shares trading hands.

Specifically, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $640,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,745,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Signet Jewelers from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Signet Jewelers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Friday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.20.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 6.75, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.26.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 13th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 32.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 15.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Signet Jewelers by 1.4% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in Signet Jewelers by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter.

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.