Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $532.92, but opened at $588.00. Dillard’s shares last traded at $549.9290, with a volume of 28,015 shares traded.

Key Stories Impacting Dillard’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Dillard’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dillard’s Q1 earnings came in at $16.04 per share, well above the Zacks consensus estimate of $10.13, signaling stronger-than-expected profitability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Total retail sales rose 3% year over year, with comparable-store sales also up 3%, suggesting healthy demand across the chain. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Net income jumped to $250.6 million from $163.8 million a year ago, while retail gross margin improved to 45.8%, pointing to better profitability and mix. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The quarter included a $104.1 million pre-tax litigation settlement gain, which boosted reported earnings and may make the headline EPS less repeatable. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Operating expenses rose to 28.3% of sales from 27.6%, and inventory increased 3%, which could matter if sales growth slows later in the year. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some of the stock’s longer-term upside may be tempered by the fact that recent analyst coverage has leaned bearish, including a new Sell rating from UBS and an Underweight rating from JPMorgan. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research cut Dillard’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $521.33.

Dillard’s Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $583.82 and its 200-day moving average is $621.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $13.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.98 by $3.07. Dillard’s had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $13.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 32.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Dillard’s by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dillard’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Dillard’s by 6,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Dillard’s during the third quarter worth about $52,000. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by 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.