Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $59.67 and last traded at $61.08, with a volume of 1429714 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $74.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.60.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.35%.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

In other Signet Jewelers news, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 4,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.10, for a total transaction of $424,123.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,885,982.10. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.63, for a total value of $332,066.79. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,598,848.55. The trade was a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,570 shares of company stock valued at $1,512,750 over the last 90 days. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 63.3% during the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,174 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,853,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 30,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after buying an additional 14,775 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $977,000.

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.