J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

by · The Cerbat Gem

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.Jill (NYSE:JILL – Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on JILL. Zacks Research upgraded J.Jill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of J.Jill from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of J.Jill from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. William Blair downgraded shares of J.Jill from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $16.00) on shares of J.Jill in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.75.

Read Our Latest Analysis on J.Jill

J.Jill Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of JILL stock opened at $24.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $356.91 million, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.57. J.Jill has a 1 year low of $10.40 and a 1 year high of $24.14.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The specialty retailer reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $154.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.26 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 28.51% and a net margin of 4.62%. On average, research analysts predict that J.Jill will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is 20.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.Jill

In other news, EVP Mark W. Webb sold 13,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.61, for a total value of $297,267.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 146,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,172,196.73. This trade represents a 8.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $625,734. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.Jill

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JILL. Fund 1 Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of J.Jill by 96.8% during the second quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,328,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $21,090,000 after buying an additional 653,645 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 8,172 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 1st quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the 4th quarter valued at $347,000. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting J.Jill

Here are the key news stories impacting J.Jill this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat expectations: J.Jill reported adjusted earnings of $1.24 per share, compared with the $0.57 analyst consensus and $0.81 a year earlier. Revenue of $154.83 million also exceeded expectations of $151.26 million. J.Jill Second-Quarter Results
  • Positive Sentiment: Raised guidance supports the rally: Management projected fiscal 2026 revenue of $596.5 million to $608.5 million, above the $593.1 million consensus estimate. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $155.0 million to $158.1 million also topped expectations. Management cited better product assortments, customer-experience improvements and stronger-than-expected sales.
  • Positive Sentiment: Analyst price targets increased: BTIG Research raised its JILL price target to $25 and maintained a bullish view. Jefferies also issued a $25 target, while Telsey Advisory Group lifted its target to $23. J.Jill additionally declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, equal to a 1.7% annualized yield. BTIG Raises J.Jill Price Target
  • Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed: TD Cowen raised its target to $22 with a “hold” rating, and Telsey rated the shares “market perform.” The consensus rating remains “hold,” suggesting some investors believe much of the turnaround optimism is already reflected in the valuation.
  • Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a modest cautionary signal: EVP Mark W. Webb sold 13,756 shares for approximately $297,267 after selling 5,086 shares earlier in September. He still owns a substantial stake, so the transactions are not necessarily a strong bearish signal. SEC Insider Trading Filing
  • Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis argued that J.Jill’s turnaround may already be reflected in the stock price, highlighting the risk of limited near-term upside despite improving sales trends.

J.Jill Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

J.Jill is a women’s apparel retailer specializing in modern, versatile clothing and accessories. The company designs and markets a range of products that emphasize comfort and style, including knitwear, woven tops, pants, dresses, outerwear, jewelry, and footwear. Through its in-house design team, J.Jill focuses on creating seasonal collections that appeal to women seeking effortless, mix-and-match wardrobes.

Products are sold through a multi-channel distribution network comprising company-operated boutiques, e-commerce platforms, and catalog sales.

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