Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG – Get Rating) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $67.88, but opened at $71.82. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $71.21, with a volume of 257,159 shares traded.

The company reported $5.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.35 by $0.17. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 47.90% and a net margin of 5.18%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 27th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is currently 14.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SIG shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Signet Jewelers in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $60.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Thursday. Three investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.00.

Insider Activity at Signet Jewelers

In related news, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.88, for a total transaction of $758,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,106,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,927,756.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stash Ptak sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $75,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,574,975. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.88, for a total value of $758,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,106,059 shares in the company, valued at $83,927,756.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,000 shares of company stock worth $1,570,000. 1.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. CSS LLC IL bought a new position in Signet Jewelers in the 2nd quarter worth about $864,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,388,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,597,000 after acquiring an additional 13,848 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 58,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter worth about $111,000. 97.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.18.

About Signet Jewelers

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Signet Jewelers Ltd. engages in the retail of diamond jewelry. It operates through the following business segments: North America, International, and Others. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The International sells primarily in the UK and Ireland under the H.