CPC Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Dillard's, Inc. $DDS

Key Points

• CPC Advisors LLC opened a new position in Dillard's during the first quarter, buying 3,387 shares valued at about $1.94 million.
• Dillard's reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $16.04 versus estimates of $10.13 and revenue of $1.59 billion, topping expectations and rising 2.7% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, while analyst sentiment remains mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $521.33.

CPC Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,938,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DDS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 28,394.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,354,000 after acquiring an additional 225,734 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Dillard's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,598,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Dillard's during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,813,000. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Dillard's by 464.3% during the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 38,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,846,000 after purchasing an additional 31,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 period. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Dillard's Trading Up 0.1%

Dillard's stock opened at $555.48 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.16. Dillard's, Inc. has a 1 year low of $397.03 and a 1 year high of $741.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $579.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $612.36.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.13 by $5.91. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. Dillard's had a return on equity of 31.43% and a net margin of 10.09%.The firm's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Dillard's, Inc. will post 35.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard's Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on DDS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Zacks Research raised Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Dillard's from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Dillard's from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Dillard's from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $521.33.

Insider Activity at Dillard's

In other news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total transaction of $243,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,183,177. This represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 34.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Dillard's Company Profile

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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