Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $116.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SIG. Zacks Research downgraded Signet Jewelers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Signet Jewelers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Signet Jewelers to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Thursday, March 19th.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

SIG stock opened at $87.25 on Monday. Signet Jewelers has a 1-year low of $61.92 and a 1-year high of $110.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.99.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported $6.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.11 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 22.22% and a net margin of 4.32%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers will post 10.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 101.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000.

About Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers Ltd is the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry, operating a diversified network of retail stores across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its portfolio includes well-established banners such as Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda, offering customers a range of shopping environments from suburban malls to high-street locations.

The company’s product assortment encompasses engagement rings, wedding bands, fine fashion jewelry and timepieces, complemented by services including jewelry cleaning, repairs, appraisals and extended care plans.