Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Shares Down 6% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) were down 6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $571.93 and last traded at $573.5750. Approximately 47,261 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 125,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $610.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DDS. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Dillard’s from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Dillard’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $521.33.

Dillard’s Stock Up 1.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $580.75 and a 200-day moving average of $614.05.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.13 by $5.91. Dillard’s had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 31.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 35.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is presently 2.85%.

Insider Transactions at Dillard’s

In other news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of Dillard’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total value of $243,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,183,177. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 34.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 6.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Dillard’s by 480.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Dillard’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Dillard’s by 81.8% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 10,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi bought a new stake in Dillard’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $238,000. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by 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.