Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is bearish: Five analysts give Dillard’s an average “Reduce” rating, with two sells and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $521.33, below the stock’s opening price of $587.47.
• Dillard’s reported a strong latest quarter, posting $16.04 in EPS versus the $10.13 consensus and revenue of $1.59 billion, up 2.7% year over year.
• Insiders own 34.8% of the company, while hedge funds and other institutions hold 67.15%. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30, equivalent to a 0.2% annualized yield.

Shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $521.3333.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DDS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Dillard's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Dillard's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Dillard's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Dillard's from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity at Dillard's

In other news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of Dillard's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,183,177. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 34.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dillard's

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DDS. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Dillard's by 6.4% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 65,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,515,000 after buying an additional 3,907 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Dillard's by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,680 shares of the company's stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Dillard's by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,464,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Dillard's by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Dillard's by 480.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the company's stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dillard's Stock Performance

Shares of DDS opened at $587.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $566.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $591.22. The stock has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.15. Dillard's has a one year low of $449.64 and a one year high of $741.97.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.39 earnings per share. Dillard's's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Dillard's will post 35.26 EPS for the current year.

Dillard's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.85%.

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.

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