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

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $521.3333.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DDS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Dillard’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total transaction of $243,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,150 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,177. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 34.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dillard’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Dillard’s by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,604 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Dillard’s by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the fourth quarter worth $36,598,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 15.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,730,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dillard’s in the fourth quarter valued at $1,423,000. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DDS opened at $511.19 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $563.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $598.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.15. Dillard’s has a one year low of $424.86 and a one year high of $741.97.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.13 by $5.91. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 31.43%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Dillard’s will post 35.26 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.85%.

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.