J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) Short Interest Up 7.5% in December

J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 406,500 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the December 15th total of 378,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 118,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J.Jill presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $192,359.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,773,745.52. This trade represents a 6.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total value of $132,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 132,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,512,686.85. This represents a 3.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,341 shares of company stock worth $781,538. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in J.Jill by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 191,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,679,000 after acquiring an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in J.Jill by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 480,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $16,788,000 after purchasing an additional 31,400 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of J.Jill by 40.8% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 8,926 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 2nd quarter valued at about $791,000. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J.Jill Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:JILL traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $27.22. 81,200 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 97,478. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.69. J.Jill has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $40.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.92.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.89%.

J.Jill Company 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.