Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other brokerages have also commented on DDS. Telsey Advisory Group cut 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 research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $521.33.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of DDS stock opened at $609.92 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $581.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $616.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 1.16. Dillard’s has a 12 month low of $396.98 and a 12 month high of $741.97.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.13 by $5.91. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 31.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Dillard’s will post 35.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J C. Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total transaction of $243,672.00. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Dillard’s by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dillard’s in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Dillard’s in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 6,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 790.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.