Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on DDS. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on Dillard’s from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Dillard’s from $184.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $519.67.

Dillard’s Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:DDS opened at $598.17 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $638.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $623.56. 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 0.24, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 1.30.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $13.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.98 by $3.07. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 8.81%.The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $13.48 EPS. Dillard’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Dillard’s will post 33.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 31.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,867,000 after purchasing an additional 4,142 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 2,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 756.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 70,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,554,000 after buying an additional 62,608 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Dillard’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,565,000. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Dillard’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,254,000. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dillard’s Company Profile

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.