StockNews.com Downgrades Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Dillard’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Dillard’s Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of Dillard’s stock traded down $19.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $308.93. 46,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 138,032. Dillard’s has a 1 year low of $282.24 and a 1 year high of $510.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $401.19 and its 200 day moving average is $414.48.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $15.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dillard’s will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is presently 2.71%.

Insider Activity at Dillard’s

In other news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total value of $130,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,167 shares in the company, valued at $505,836.15. This represents a 20.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 33.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DDS. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,377,000 after buying an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp raised its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 154.5% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 352,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,975,000 after buying an additional 25,212 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Dillard’s by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 5,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Dillard’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,270,000. Institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Dillard’s Company Profile

Dillard’s, Inc engages in the retail of fashion apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings, and other consumer goods. It operates through the Retail Operations and Construction segments. The Retail Operations segment comprises sells cosmetics, ladies’ apparel, ladies’ accessories and lingerie, juniors’ and children’s apparel, men’s apparel and accessories, shoes, and home and furniture products.