Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Dillard's shares reached a new 12-month high, trading at $629.27, with a market capitalization of $9.71 billion.
• Analysts have given Dillard's an average rating of "Sell" with a consensus target price of $394.33, despite some recent upgrades in price objectives from various brokerages.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.30, which reflects a positive change in its financial policies and a dividend yield of 0.2%.

Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $629.27 and last traded at $620.72, with a volume of 4284 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $623.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Dillard's from $368.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Dillard's from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Dillard's from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Dillard's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Sell" and a consensus target price of $394.33.

Dillard's Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $532.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $434.07.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.87. Dillard's had a return on equity of 30.55% and a net margin of 8.87%.The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $11.09 earnings per share. Dillard's's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Dillard's, Inc. will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Dillard's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard's

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC raised its stake in shares of Dillard's by 26,618.5% in the first quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 186,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,694,000 after purchasing an additional 185,531 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dillard's by 75.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,468 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Dillard's in the second quarter valued at $10,238,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Dillard's by 84.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 46,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,623,000 after purchasing an additional 21,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dillard's in the first quarter valued at $6,250,000. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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