Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

DDS has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Dillard’s from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DDS opened at $353.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $438.09 and a 200-day moving average of $415.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Dillard’s has a 12 month low of $328.00 and a 12 month high of $510.00.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $15.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Dillard’s will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dillard’s news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total value of $130,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,836.15. The trade was a 20.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DDS. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Dillard’s by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 352,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,975,000 after buying an additional 25,212 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Dillard’s by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 211,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,339,000 after buying an additional 20,155 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Dillard’s by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 152,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,951,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Clientfirst Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Dillard’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,873,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Dillard’s by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,307,000 after buying an additional 26,132 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.