Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Hits New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $720.00 and last traded at $721.56, with a volume of 29169 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $605.96.

The company reported $8.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.48 by $1.83. Dillard’s had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 30.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.73 earnings per share.

Dillard’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Dillard’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is 3.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DDS. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Dillard’s from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Dillard’s from $175.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $397.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dillard’s

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $594.60, for a total transaction of $445,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $6,094,650. This represents a 6.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dillard’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DDS. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Dillard’s by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Dillard’s by 76.2% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Dillard’s by 7.1% in the third quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 4,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $333,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Dillard’s during the third quarter valued at $764,000. Institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Dillard’s Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $601.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $496.34. The company has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 2.68.

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.