Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 769 Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 154.5% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 5,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Dillard’s Stock Down 1.7 %

DDS opened at $353.37 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $438.09 and a 200 day moving average of $416.59. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.89. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 12 month low of $328.00 and a 12 month high of $510.00. 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 (NYSE:DDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 32.13%. Dillard’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $15.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is 2.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dillard’s

In other Dillard’s news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total value of $130,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,836.15. This trade represents a 20.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DDS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

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.