Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $78.09, but opened at $89.85. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $91.32, with a volume of 679,573 shares traded.

The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 32.51%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Signet Jewelers’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is 9.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SIG shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com lowered Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jamie Singleton sold 18,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.11, for a total transaction of $1,504,706.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 162,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,542,109.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jamie Singleton sold 18,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.11, for a total value of $1,504,706.55. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $640,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,745,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,439 shares of company stock worth $4,809,869 over the last three months. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the second quarter worth about $2,772,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 44,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 11,723 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 204.3% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 10,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 46.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464 shares during the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 4.8 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.40 and a 200 day moving average of $92.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 2.10.

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.