Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Short Interest Up 18.0% in September

Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a growth of 18.0% from the September 15th total of 1,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 157,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.5 days. Approximately 14.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DDS. StockNews.com raised shares of Dillard's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Dillard's from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Dillard's from $202.00 to $194.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Activity at Dillard's

In other Dillard's news, Director Robert C. Connor purchased 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $346.82 per share, for a total transaction of $34,682.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 78,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,051,960. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 33.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dillard's

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 394,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,255,000 after buying an additional 52,974 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dillard's by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 69,071 shares of the company's stock worth $27,881,000 after acquiring an additional 36,253 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dillard's by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 124,200 shares of the company's stock worth $54,696,000 after purchasing an additional 32,900 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Dillard's during the 4th quarter worth $9,036,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Dillard's by 592.9% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 11,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,057,000 after purchasing an additional 9,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.15% of the company's stock.

Dillard's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DDS traded up $9.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $385.85. The company had a trading volume of 116,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,864. Dillard's has a 52-week low of $286.39 and a 52-week high of $476.48. The company's 50 day moving average price is $361.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $403.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.85.

Dillard's (NYSE:DDS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $4.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.97 by ($1.38). The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Dillard's had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 34.29%. The company's revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dillard's will post 31.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Dillard's's payout ratio is presently 2.27%.

About Dillard's

Dillard's, Inc operates retail department stores in the southeastern, southwestern, and midwestern areas of the United States. The company's stores offer merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men, and children; and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods.