Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $49.73, but opened at $53.92. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $56.28, with a volume of 632,393 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on SIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.20.

Signet Jewelers Trading Up 5.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.56.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.05). Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.35%.

Insider Activity at Signet Jewelers

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Grace & White Inc. NY boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 207,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,728,000 after acquiring an additional 11,900 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Signet Jewelers by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 61,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,969,000 after buying an additional 11,218 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 8,574 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,704,000 after acquiring an additional 35,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the fourth quarter valued at $648,000.

Signet Jewelers Company Profile

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.