Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Shares Gap Down to $103.14

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $103.14, but opened at $97.88. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $97.22, with a volume of 89,405 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIG has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Signet Jewelers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Signet Jewelers from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Down 8.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 2.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.01.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 29.90%. Signet Jewelers’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is currently 9.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 3,475 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.67, for a total transaction of $353,303.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 775,345 shares in the company, valued at $78,829,326.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 3,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.67, for a total transaction of $353,303.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 775,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,829,326.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,334 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.94, for a total transaction of $293,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,587,018.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,828 shares of company stock valued at $6,698,021 in the last quarter. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Signet Jewelers during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $180,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter.

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.