Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 809,500 shares, a decrease of 12.3% from the January 31st total of 922,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 127,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days. Currently, 10.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DDS. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Dillard's from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Dillard's in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of Dillard's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total value of $130,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $505,836.15. The trade was a 20.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 33.80% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Dillard's

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Dillard's during the third quarter worth $125,388,000. Clientfirst Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Dillard's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,873,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Dillard's by 107.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 77,050 shares of the company's stock worth $33,266,000 after acquiring an additional 39,858 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Dillard's by 3,989.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,790 shares of the company's stock worth $16,315,000 after purchasing an additional 36,866 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Dillard's by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,307,000 after purchasing an additional 26,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company's stock.

Dillard's Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE DDS traded up $3.72 on Monday, reaching $375.04. 204,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,416. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business's fifty day moving average price is $454.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $415.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.89. Dillard's has a fifty-two week low of $328.00 and a fifty-two week high of $510.00.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. Dillard's had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 32.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $15.44 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Dillard's will post 33.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Dillard's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.71%.

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.