Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Short Interest Down 22.0% in December

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 679,129 shares, a decrease of 22.0% from the December 15th total of 870,597 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 165,950 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 165,950 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Dillard’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Dillard’s by 756.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 70,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,554,000 after acquiring an additional 62,608 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Dillard’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,813,000. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Dillard’s by 464.3% in the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 38,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,846,000 after purchasing an additional 31,929 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 28,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,238,000. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Dillard’s stock traded down $2.27 during trading on Monday, reaching $662.98. The company had a trading volume of 94,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,789. Dillard’s has a 52 week low of $282.24 and a 52 week high of $741.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $652.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $584.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $8.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.88. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.90%.The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Dillard’s will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is currently 3.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $411.00 to $524.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $184.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $511.33.

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.