Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Trading Down 5.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) fell 5.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $647.13 and last traded at $640.70. 47,129 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 135,753 shares. The stock had previously closed at $678.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Dillard’s Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $633.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $545.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Dillard’s

In other news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.60, for a total value of $445,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,094,650. This trade represents a 6.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dillard’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Dillard’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dillard’s in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 790.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Dillard’s by 220.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Dillard’s by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.