Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Stock Price

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $80.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of SIG stock opened at $58.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.31. Signet Jewelers has a twelve month low of $45.55 and a twelve month high of $112.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. Signet Jewelers’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.73 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Signet Jewelers will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is an increase from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -168.42%.

Insider Activity at Signet Jewelers

In related news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 149.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 832.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period.

Signet Jewelers Company Profile

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.