Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on DDS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dillard’s has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $521.33.

Dillard’s Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE:DDS opened at $589.61 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $565.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $591.93. Dillard’s has a 52-week low of $449.64 and a 52-week high of $741.97. The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.37.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dillard’s news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total value of $243,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,150 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,177. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 34.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DDS. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Dillard’s during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Dillard’s during the third quarter worth $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Dillard’s by 790.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Dillard’s by 6,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

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.