Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $511.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DDS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Dillard’s from $411.00 to $524.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $184.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of DDS stock opened at $681.50 on Friday. Dillard’s has a one year low of $282.24 and a one year high of $741.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 2.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $645.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $572.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.20.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $8.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.88. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 30.50%. Dillard’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Dillard’s will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is 3.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dillard’s news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.60, for a total value of $445,950.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,094,650. This trade represents a 6.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 34.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Dillard’s by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 178,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,602,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 14.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,730,000 after purchasing an additional 12,699 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 756.9% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 70,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,554,000 after purchasing an additional 62,608 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Dillard’s by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 66,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,875,000 after purchasing an additional 22,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Dillard’s by 75.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,687,000 after buying an additional 28,468 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Dillard’s

Dillard’s, Inc (NYSE:DDS), headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a U.S.-based department store chain founded by William T. Dillard in 1938. Over more than eight decades of operation, the company has grown from a single store in Nashville, Arkansas, to a prominent retailer with a national footprint. Dillard’s equity is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DDS.

The company operates approximately 280 departmental stores across 29 states, offering a broad assortment of merchandise that includes men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and home furnishings.