Caxton Associates LLP Takes $719,000 Position in Dillard's, Inc. $DDS

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP recently acquired 2,008 shares of Dillard's, Inc. valued at approximately $719,000, indicating growing interest from institutional investors in the company's stock.
• Dillard's reported earnings of $4.66 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.79, reflecting a revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.30 per share, with a yield of 0.2% for investors of record.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DDS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Dillard's by 62.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 110.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 139 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 2,980.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 154 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Dillard's by 986.7% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 163 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Dillard's in the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DDS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Dillard's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Dillard's from $368.00 to $458.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Dillard's from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Dillard's from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Sell" and an average target price of $394.33.

Dillard's Stock Performance

Shares of DDS traded down $10.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $575.12. The stock had a trading volume of 112,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,873. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 0.99. Dillard's, Inc. has a 52 week low of $282.24 and a 52 week high of $586.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $500.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $417.65.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Dillard's had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 30.55%. Dillard's's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.09 EPS. On average, equities research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Dillard's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.76%.

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.