Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Dillard's from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Dillard's in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Dillard's Price Performance

Shares of Dillard's stock traded up $9.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $417.20. The stock had a trading volume of 37,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,076. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business's 50-day moving average is $353.16 and its 200 day moving average is $409.98. Dillard's has a 12 month low of $282.24 and a 12 month high of $510.00.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $10.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.10 by $1.29. Dillard's had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 32.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dillard's will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC increased its stake in shares of Dillard's by 26,618.5% during 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. Clientfirst Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Dillard's in the fourth quarter worth $48,873,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Dillard's by 107.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 77,050 shares of the company's stock worth $33,266,000 after purchasing an additional 39,858 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 3,989.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,315,000 after buying an additional 36,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Dillard's by 75.6% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.