Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Dillard’s from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Dillard’s from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Dillard’s Price Performance

DDS opened at $457.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $464.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $413.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Dillard’s has a 1 year low of $328.00 and a 1 year high of $510.00. The firm has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.88.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $15.44 EPS. Dillard’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Dillard’s will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $25.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.68%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.57%.

Insider Activity at Dillard’s

In related news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of Dillard’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total transaction of $130,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,167 shares in the company, valued at $505,836.15. The trade was a 20.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DDS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 177.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 61.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Dillard’s during the third quarter valued at $70,000. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Dillard’s

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.