Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also commented on SIG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

NYSE SIG opened at $97.55 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.56. Signet Jewelers has a 52-week low of $68.15 and a 52-week high of $112.06. The company has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 2.12.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 29.90%. Signet Jewelers’s revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.43%.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In other news, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total value of $756,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 200,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,993,817.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 3,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.67, for a total transaction of $353,303.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 775,345 shares in the company, valued at $78,829,326.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total value of $756,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 200,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,993,817.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,957 shares of company stock worth $5,910,256 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SIG. Khrom Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,357,000. Eminence Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 844,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,644,000 after acquiring an additional 351,588 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 2.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,949,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,562,000 after acquiring an additional 193,977 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 656,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,646,000 after purchasing an additional 181,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,386,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,809,000 after buying an additional 149,934 shares during the period.

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.