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

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $48.30, but opened at $58.53. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $59.14, with a volume of 1,074,073 shares changing hands.

The company reported $6.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.73 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIG has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.20.

Insider Activity at Signet Jewelers

In related news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $180,415.29. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SIG. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 1,046.3% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 1,889,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,495,000 after buying an additional 1,724,592 shares in the last quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 862.5% in the 4th quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 1,762,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579,410 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter valued at $40,989,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 2,648.8% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 304,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,538,000 after acquiring an additional 292,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,055,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,155,000 after acquiring an additional 286,974 shares during the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.81.

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.