J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Raises Dividend to $0.08 Per Share

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the specialty retailer on Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a 14.3% increase from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07.

J.Jill has a dividend payout ratio of 7.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect J.Jill to earn $3.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.7%.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JILL traded down $1.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $18.09. The company had a trading volume of 201,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,876. J.Jill has a 12 month low of $17.99 and a 12 month high of $40.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.44 million, a P/E ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.45.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $94.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.33 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 71.30%. As a group, analysts anticipate that J.Jill will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $131,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,744,257.65. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.17.

J.Jill Company Profile

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.