AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 9,949 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 16.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,849 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,949 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.65% of J.Jill worth $2,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in J.Jill by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 13,664 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. CWM LLC acquired a new position in J.Jill in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in J.Jill by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 40.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at J.Jill

In other J.Jill news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 13,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.87, for a total transaction of $483,886.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,509,364.77. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 1,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.10, for a total transaction of $36,530.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 105,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,848,535.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Claire Spofford sold 13,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.87, for a total value of $483,886.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,509,364.77. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,186 shares of company stock valued at $563,971. 6.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of J.Jill from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of J.Jill from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL opened at $24.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $258.60 million, a P/E ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 0.60. J.Jill, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $40.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.33.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $155.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.13 million. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 90.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. J.Jill’s payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

J.Jill Profile

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.