Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $519.6667.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $184.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Dillard’s by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Dillard’s by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Dillard’s Trading Down 1.3%

Dillard’s stock opened at $604.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 1.30. Dillard’s has a 1 year low of $282.24 and a 1 year high of $741.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $640.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $618.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.65.

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

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given 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 Tuesday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is presently 3.30%.

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.