Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Trading 3.4% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)’s stock price traded up 3.4% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $57.87 and last traded at $58.22. 228,287 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,048,343 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.30.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SIG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.60.

Signet Jewelers Trading Up 2.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.63, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Signet Jewelers

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

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter worth about $565,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter worth about $297,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,967,000 after buying an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 111,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 13,769 shares during the last quarter.

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.