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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SIG. Bank of America decreased their price target on Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Signet Jewelers from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four 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 has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $120.20.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of Signet Jewelers stock opened at $101.80 on Friday. Signet Jewelers has a one year low of $57.10 and a one year high of $109.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.57 and its 200 day moving average is $93.39. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 2.13.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $6.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 11.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Signet Jewelers will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is 7.74%.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In related news, insider Oded Edelman sold 7,911 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.36, for a total value of $833,502.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,378 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,706.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Oded Edelman sold 7,911 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.36, for a total transaction of $833,502.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,516,706.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director H. Todd Stitzer sold 5,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.41, for a total transaction of $512,050.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,393.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,254 shares of company stock valued at $4,669,294. 4.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the third quarter valued at $1,905,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 394,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,300,000 after buying an additional 118,275 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 7.2% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 585,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,036,000 after buying an additional 39,316 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 9.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,225,000 after buying an additional 52,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the fourth quarter valued at $255,000.

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.