Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 12,754 Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. invested approximately $4.57 million in Dillard's, acquiring 12,754 shares during the first quarter.
• Dillard's reported earnings of $10.39 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $1.54 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.2%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,568,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Dillard's at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DDS. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Dillard's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Dillard's by 2,980.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 154 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Dillard's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Dillard's by 986.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 163 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Dillard's by 7,566.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 230 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DDS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Dillard's from $368.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Dillard's in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Dillard's from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

Dillard's Stock Up 0.4%

Dillard's stock traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $468.83. The stock had a trading volume of 114,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,096. Dillard's, Inc. has a 12-month low of $282.24 and a 12-month high of $514.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $432.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $407.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.06.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $10.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.10 by $1.29. Dillard's had a net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $11.10 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Dillard's, Inc. will post 33.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.76%.

Dillard's 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.