Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $98.73, but opened at $85.44. Signet Jewelers shares last traded at $88.07, with a volume of 1,397,905 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). The business 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 29.90% and a net margin of 8.58%. Signet Jewelers’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.24 EPS.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Signet Jewelers

In other news, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.57, for a total transaction of $756,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 200,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,993,817.08. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mary Elizabeth Finn sold 3,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $347,400.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,058 shares in the company, valued at $3,975,114.56. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,957 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,306. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Khrom Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Signet Jewelers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,357,000. Eminence Capital LP raised its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 71.3% in the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 844,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,644,000 after buying an additional 351,588 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 2.9% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,949,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,562,000 after buying an additional 193,977 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Signet Jewelers by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,386,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,809,000 after acquiring an additional 149,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Signet Jewelers by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,069,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,347,000 after acquiring an additional 126,726 shares during the period.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.62.

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.