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 Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $545.67.

Dillard’s Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of DDS stock opened at $581.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 3.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $571.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $586.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.14. Dillard’s has a 52-week low of $495.00 and a 52-week high of $741.97.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $6.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $1.96. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 31.88% and a net margin of 10.48%.The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. On average, analysts predict that Dillard’s will post 35.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is currently 2.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total transaction of $243,672.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,183,177. This 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. Corporate insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DDS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Dillard’s by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Dillard’s by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Dillard’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is 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.