Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Stock Price Up 3.4% After Dividend Announcement

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) shares rose 3.4% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $57.87 and last traded at $58.22. Approximately 228,287 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.60.

Signet Jewelers Trading Up 3.8 %

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 firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 2.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.32.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.73 EPS. Signet Jewelers’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Signet Jewelers by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 0.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,330,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 3.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Signet Jewelers by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during 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.