Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SIG. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SIG traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $91.88. 1,059,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 801,817. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.01. Signet Jewelers has a fifty-two week low of $65.12 and a fifty-two week high of $112.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 2.10.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Oded Edelman sold 9,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.55, for a total transaction of $670,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,117,070.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Signet Jewelers news, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $640,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,745,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oded Edelman sold 9,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.55, for a total value of $670,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,117,070.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,202 shares of company stock valued at $5,157,269 over the last ninety days. 3.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Signet Jewelers

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Khrom Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Signet Jewelers in the second quarter valued at about $58,357,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,976,000. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 844,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,644,000 after acquiring an additional 351,588 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,949,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,562,000 after acquiring an additional 193,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 38.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 656,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,646,000 after acquiring an additional 181,207 shares during the last quarter.

About Signet Jewelers

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.