Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) & Auto Trader Group (OTCMKTS:ATDRY) Financial Contrast

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) and Auto Trader Group (OTCMKTS:ATDRY) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Dillard’s and Auto Trader Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dillard’s	10.48%	31.88%	16.20%
Auto Trader Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Dillard’s has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Auto Trader Group has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.2% of Dillard’s shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Auto Trader Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 34.8% of Dillard’s shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Dillard’s and Auto Trader Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dillard’s	$6.47 billion	1.41	$570.19 million	$43.65	13.38
Auto Trader Group	$836.74 million	6.59	$393.91 million	N/A	N/A

Dillard’s has higher revenue and earnings than Auto Trader Group.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Dillard’s and Auto Trader Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dillard’s	2	3	0	0	1.60
Auto Trader Group	1	4	1	0	2.00

Dillard’s presently has a consensus price target of $545.67, indicating a potential downside of 6.56%. Given Dillard’s’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Dillard’s is more favorable than Auto Trader Group.

Dividends

Dillard’s pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Auto Trader Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Dillard’s pays out 2.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dillard’s has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Summary

Dillard’s beats Auto Trader Group on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dillard’s

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. The Construction segment constructs and remodels stores through CDI Contractors, LLC. The company was founded by William Thomas Dillard in 1938 and is headquartered in Little Rock, AR.

About Auto Trader Group

Auto Trader Group plc operates in the digital automotive marketplace in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company provides vehicle advertisement on its websites for private sellers, as well as insurance and loan financing products to consumers; and display advertising on its websites for manufacturers and their advertising agencies. The company offers its products to retailers, home traders, and logistics firms. Auto Trader Group plc was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Manchester, the United Kingdom.