Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Price Target Raised to $524.00

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $411.00 to $524.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

DDS has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $175.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Dillard’s from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dillard’s currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $419.33.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Dillard’s stock opened at $671.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $611.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $516.53. The stock has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.41. Dillard’s has a 1-year low of $282.24 and a 1-year high of $737.73.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $8.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.88. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 30.55% and a net margin of 8.87%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Dillard’s will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is 3.26%.

Insider Transactions at Dillard’s

In other Dillard’s news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 750 shares of Dillard’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.60, for a total transaction of $445,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,094,650. The trade was a 6.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 34.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Dillard’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Dillard’s by 0.3% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 25,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,784,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $552,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $408,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 1,931.8% in the 3rd quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP now owns 15,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,513,000 after buying an additional 14,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

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.