J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL), might not be a large cap stock, but it led the NYSE gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. The recent share price gains has brought the company back closer to its yearly peak. As a stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company's outlook is already priced into the stock. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Let's take a look at J.Jill's outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

Is J.Jill Still Cheap?

Great news for investors – J.Jill is still trading at a fairly cheap price according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. We've used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there's not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock's ratio of 8.82x is currently well-below the industry average of 15.51x, meaning that it is trading at a cheaper price relative to its peers. Another thing to keep in mind is that J.Jill's share price is quite stable relative to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This means that if you believe the current share price should move towards its industry peers, a low beta could suggest it is not likely to reach that level anytime soon, and once it's there, it may be hard to fall back down into an attractive buying range again.

Can we expect growth from J.Jill?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it's the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. In the upcoming year, J.Jill's earnings are expected to increase by 30%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? Since JILL is currently trading below the industry PE ratio, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With an optimistic profit outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as capital structure to consider, which could explain the current price multiple.

Are you a potential investor? If you've been keeping an eye on JILL for a while, now might be the time to enter the stock. Its buoyant future profit outlook isn't fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it's not too late to buy JILL. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed assessment.

In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. While conducting our analysis, we found that J.Jill has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

If you are no longer interested in J.Jill, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.