VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Dillard's, Inc. $DDS

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems purchased a new position of 3,134 shares in Dillard's, Inc. valued at approximately $1.3 million during the second quarter.
• Dillard's recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.30, with the upcoming payment scheduled for November 3rd.
• In terms of analyst ratings, Dillard’s has seen multiple downgrades, with a consensus price target of $394.33 among analysts, suggesting a cautious outlook.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,309,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Dillard's by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 77,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,823,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dillard's by 97.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Dillard's by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,641,000 after acquiring an additional 4,867 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Dillard's during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,571,000. 67.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DDS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Dillard's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Dillard's in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Dillard's from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on Dillard's from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Dillard's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $394.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dillard's

In other Dillard's news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 750 shares of Dillard's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.60, for a total value of $445,950.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,094,650. This trade represents a 6.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 34.80% of the company's stock.

Dillard's Price Performance

DDS opened at $606.90 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $578.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.02. Dillard's, Inc. has a 12-month low of $282.24 and a 12-month high of $637.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 1.09.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.87. Dillard's had a return on equity of 30.55% and a net margin of 8.87%.The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.09 EPS. Dillard's's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Dillard's, Inc. will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard's Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Dillard's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.31%.

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.

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