Dillard's (NYSE:DDS) Shares Down 2.3% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) fell 2.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $355.70 and last traded at $354.21. 41,991 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 137,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DDS. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Dillard's from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Dillard's in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Dillard's Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.89. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $445.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $416.06.

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

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Dillard's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Dillard's's payout ratio is 2.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dillard's

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard's

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DDS. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Dillard's by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Dillard's by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 5,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,216,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Dillard's by 177.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Dillard's by 61.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 129 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Dillard's by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 783 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company's stock.

About Dillard's

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.