UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys New Stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 25.0% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 76,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,627,000 after purchasing an additional 15,376 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 97.3% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 45,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,562,000 after purchasing an additional 22,482 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter valued at $1,370,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 65,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,049,000 after acquiring an additional 14,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 14.8% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 452,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,308,000 after acquiring an additional 58,400 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Signet Jewelers from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Vincent Ciccolini sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.64, for a total transaction of $406,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 46,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,683,164.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Signet Jewelers news, insider Jamie Singleton sold 18,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.11, for a total transaction of $1,504,706.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 162,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,542,109.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Vincent Ciccolini sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.64, for a total transaction of $406,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 46,076 shares in the company, valued at $4,683,164.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,439 shares of company stock valued at $3,905,479 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SIG traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $82.84. 58,839 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 771,993. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.67, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.16. Signet Jewelers Limited has a twelve month low of $65.12 and a twelve month high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 13th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 32.51% and a net margin of 10.91%. The business’s revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is 9.43%.

About Signet Jewelers

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.