Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 679,129 shares, a drop of 22.0% from the December 15th total of 870,597 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 165,950 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 165,950 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 6.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DDS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $411.00 to $524.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Dillard’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $511.33.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DDS traded down $2.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $662.98. 94,726 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 143,980. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $651.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $581.65. The firm has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 1.20. Dillard’s has a 52 week low of $282.24 and a 52 week high of $741.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $8.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.88. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 30.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Dillard’s will post 33.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in Dillard’s by 756.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 70,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,554,000 after buying an additional 62,608 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Dillard’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,813,000. Man Group plc grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 31,929 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Dillard’s by 75.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Dillard’s during the second quarter valued at $10,238,000. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.