Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 33.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,259 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.35% of Signet Jewelers worth $12,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIG. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its position in Signet Jewelers by 6.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 22.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter worth $2,418,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 8,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 99.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 9,778 shares during the period.

Signet Jewelers Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE SIG opened at $58.05 on Tuesday. Signet Jewelers Limited has a one year low of $45.55 and a one year high of $112.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.68, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is -168.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. The trade was a 42.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Cfra Research upgraded Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

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.