Is The Sparkle Coming Off of Jewelry Stocks?

#2. Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF)

– Investors with long positions as of March 31: 26

– Aggregate value of investors’ holdings as of March 31: $372.2 million

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) is the only stock in this list, which saw the number of investors holding shares fall by four during the January-March period. Shares of Tiffany have lost 13% year-to-date, affected by the company’s financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2017, which came lower than the consensus estimates for EPS and revenue. Analysts have also expressed concerns that the company is losing its appeal to younger customers, which, along with the tax hike by the Chinese governments on luxury goods purchased from abroad, would negatively impact the company’s financials going forward.

#1. Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE:SIG)

– Investors with long positions as of March 31: 55

– Aggregate value of investors’ holdings as of March 31: $2.67 billion

Though the number of hedge funds tracked by us with long positions in Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE:SIG) inched up by two during the first quarter, the aggregate value of their holdings plummeted by $645 million during the same time, but they still held around 27.50% of the company’s float at the end of first quarter. The stock is down by more than 26% since the beginning of the year on the back of weaker-than-expected results, as well as after the company got embroiled in controversy in June. A report in June accused employees of Signet Jewelers’ Kay retail stores of swapping expensive diamonds with cheaper ones. In addition, analysts expressed concerns that Signet’s approach towards financing and certain accounting practices should raise questions regarding the company’s future performance.

Disclosure: None