J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Short Interest Up 7.5% in December

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 406,500 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the December 15th total of 378,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 118,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.17.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL opened at $27.22 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $417.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.82. J.Jill has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $40.61.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. J.Jill’s payout ratio is 9.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.Jill news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $131,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,744,257.65. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $192,359.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,773,745.52. The trade was a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,341 shares of company stock worth $781,538. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of J.Jill during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in J.Jill by 13.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in J.Jill by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 106,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in J.Jill by 196.6% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in J.Jill by 22.3% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 10,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

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.