J.Jill's Ability For Ongoing Topline Gains & Increased Profitability Impresses This Analyst
Telsey Advisory Group analyst Dana Telsey reiterated a Moderate Risk rating on the shares of J.Jill Inc (NYSE: JILL) and raised the price target from $24 to $28.
JILL maintained strong operating momentum through the third quarter, with gross margin expansion and cost control driving year-over-year earnings growth despite a challenging macro environment.
The analyst added that the company’s inventory appears relatively clean heading into the holiday.
Following the third quarter beat, the fourth quarter outlook was also in line with the analyst’s expectations, prudently leaving room in the gross margin outlook for a competitive pricing environment.
The company sees its Welcome Everybody inclusive sizing initiative (launched enterprise-wide on August 4) as modernizing the brand and expanding the value proposition to improve relevance to its core consumer while attracting the next cohort of customers.
With a better balance between the core offering and newness, J.Jill is telling a clearer story, in the analyst’s view, allowing the customer to better connect with the assortment over a longer selling period.
The merchandising work has left JILL well-positioned to capture shifting demand as customers return to pre-pandemic attire, and its professional customer base is less exposed to macro headwinds.
With an attractive customer base, strong omni-channel offering, and assortment enhancements, the analyst sees the ability for ongoing topline gains and increased profitability.
Price Action: JILL shares are trading higher by 8.59% at $25.72 on the last check Wednesday.
Latest Ratings for JILL
Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 2019 | Jefferies | Downgrades | Buy | Hold |
May 2019 | Morgan Stanley | Maintains | Equal-Weight | |
May 2019 | Deutsche Bank | Downgrades | Buy | Hold |
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