Wall Street Zen Downgrades Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) to Hold

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on DDS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $184.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Dillard’s presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $519.67.

Dillard’s Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of DDS stock opened at $554.90 on Friday. Dillard’s has a fifty-two week low of $282.24 and a fifty-two week high of $741.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $618.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $625.03.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $13.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by $3.07. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 8.81%.The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $13.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Dillard’s will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 28,394.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,354,000 after purchasing an additional 225,734 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Dillard’s by 756.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 70,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,554,000 after buying an additional 62,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Dillard’s during the fourth quarter valued at $36,598,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Dillard’s in the third quarter valued at $31,813,000. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in Dillard’s by 464.3% in the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 38,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,846,000 after buying an additional 31,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

About Dillard’s

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.