J Watts, Jr. Sells 400 Shares of Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Stock

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Director J Watts, Jr. sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.18, for a total value of $243,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,183,177. This represents a 3.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Dillard’s Price Performance

Shares of Dillard’s stock traded down $8.23 on Friday, hitting $605.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 140,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,341. The company has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.16. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $394.70 and a 52-week high of $741.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $576.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $616.29. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $16.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.13 by $5.91. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 35.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Dillard’s by 480.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dillard’s in the 1st quarter worth $114,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Dillard’s by 81.8% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 10,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi purchased a new stake in Dillard’s during the first quarter valued at about $238,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DDS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Dillard’s from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $521.33.

Dillard’s Company Profile

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.