Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Short Interest Down 12.3% in February

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) saw a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 809,500 shares, a drop of 12.3% from the January 31st total of 922,700 shares. Currently, 10.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 127,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DDS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of DDS stock traded up $7.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $368.13. 56,320 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 125,502. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $456.22 and its 200 day moving average is $414.23. The company has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.88. Dillard’s has a 1 year low of $328.00 and a 1 year 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $15.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Dillard’s will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.71%.

Insider Activity at Dillard’s

In related news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of Dillard’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total transaction of $130,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,836.15. This trade represents a 20.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 33.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Dillard’s by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its position in Dillard’s by 154.5% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Dillard’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $125,388,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position 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 valued at $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Dillard’s

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.