Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Dillard’s, Inc. $DDS

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 44.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,426 shares during the quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Dillard’s were worth $1,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DDS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Dillard’s by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Dillard’s by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Dillard’s by 2.3% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Dillard’s by 3.1% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Dillard’s by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DDS. UBS Group boosted their price target on Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dillard’s has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $521.33.

Dillard’s Trading Up 2.7%

DDS stock opened at $576.81 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $574.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $617.31. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $386.85 and a 52-week high of $741.97. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.13 by $5.91. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 33.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is presently 2.85%.

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.