Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 3,377 Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,535 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,377 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Signet Jewelers worth $17,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SIG. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Signet Jewelers by 25.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the third quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the third quarter worth $210,000.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of SIG stock opened at $51.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Signet Jewelers Limited has a one year low of $50.38 and a one year high of $112.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 5.93, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.11.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is 13.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on Signet Jewelers from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.20.

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.