Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Position in Signet Jewelers Limited $SIG

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,799,639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 216,391 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Signet Jewelers worth $397,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $456,000. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter worth $15,372,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter worth $1,053,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Signet Jewelers by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter worth $140,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Zacks Research cut Signet Jewelers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Signet Jewelers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Signet Jewelers from $118.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.00.

Signet Jewelers Trading Up 6.9%

NYSE SIG opened at $87.69 on Thursday. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 12 month low of $61.50 and a 12 month high of $110.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.10.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported $6.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.11 by $0.14. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 22.22% and a net margin of 4.32%.The firm had revenue of ($4,468.50) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

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

Signet Jewelers Company Profile

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.