Dillard’s, Inc. (DDS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,933,267 shares, an increase of 2.1% from the July 14th total of 7,769,162 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,871,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 38.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BidaskClub lowered shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank AG raised their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. J P Morgan Chase & Co restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target (down previously from $49.00) on shares of Dillard’s in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Dillard’s (NYSE DDS) traded up 3.15% on Tuesday, reaching $57.26. 915,346 shares of the company traded hands. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 1.12. Dillard’s has a 52-week low of $45.51 and a 52-week high of $83.44.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Dillard’s had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Dillard’s will post $3.57 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from Dillard’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is currently 7.12%.

In other news, major shareholder David Einhorn sold 35,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $1,808,937.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 26.63% of the company’s stock.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QS Investors LLC raised its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 0.7% in the second quarter. QS Investors LLC now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Aperio Group LLC raised its stake in Dillard’s by 0.5% in the second quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 14,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Dillard’s by 3.3% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 6,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Dillard’s by 1.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 23,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, LS Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Dillard’s by 16.4% in the second quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.72% of the company’s stock.

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Dillard’s Company Profile

Dillard’s, Inc is a retailer of fashion apparel, cosmetics and home furnishing. As of January 28, 2017, the Company operated 293 Dillard’s stores, including 25 clearance centers, and an Internet store offering a selection of merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men and children, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods.