Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $461,000 in Dillard's, Inc. $DDS

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has made a new investment in Dillard's, Inc., acquiring 1,287 shares valued at approximately $461,000.
• Dillard's recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.30, representing an annualized yield of 0.2%.
• The stock has been experiencing downward pressure, as Dillard's shares are currently down 2.8% with analysts maintaining a consensus rating of "Sell."

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its holdings in Dillard's by 208.6% during the 1st quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Dillard's during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,653,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in Dillard's by 299.1% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 10,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,859,000 after purchasing an additional 8,076 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC increased its holdings in Dillard's by 428.9% during the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 5,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 4,238 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Dillard's by 4,784.4% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.15% of the company's stock.

Dillard's Price Performance

Shares of DDS traded up $5.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $558.87. 142,392 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 140,120. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $480.92 and a 200-day moving average of $413.68. Dillard's, Inc. has a 52 week low of $282.24 and a 52 week high of $565.83. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.41.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Dillard's had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.09 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Dillard's, Inc. will post 33.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a boost from Dillard's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.