J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.08

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the specialty retailer on Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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. Equities 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 Price Performance

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at J.Jill

In other J.Jill news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $131,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,744,257.65. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About J.Jill

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.