Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $184.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $519.67.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

DDS opened at $554.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $618.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $625.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 1.30. Dillard’s has a 1-year low of $282.24 and a 1-year high of $741.97.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $13.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.98 by $3.07. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 8.81%.The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $13.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Dillard’s will post 33.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is currently 3.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DDS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Dillard’s by 322.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 110.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 139 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 18.3% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 44,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,009,000 after purchasing an additional 6,913 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 75.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,468 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Dillard’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,746,000. 67.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.