Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SIG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 for the company 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 research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.60.

Signet Jewelers Trading Down 0.5 %

SIG stock opened at $97.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 2.12. Signet Jewelers has a 12-month low of $72.26 and a 12-month high of $112.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.49.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Signet Jewelers will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 3,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.67, for a total value of $353,303.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 775,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,829,326.15. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $640,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,745,680. The trade was a 14.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,957 shares of company stock valued at $5,239,306. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 122 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.