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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 322.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 2,680 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Dillard’s by 110.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 139 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Dillard’s by 18.3% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 44,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,009,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 75.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,687,000 after buying an additional 28,468 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Dillard’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,746,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DDS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $184.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Dillard’s from $411.00 to $524.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $511.33.

Dillard’s Trading Up 2.1%

Dillard’s stock traded up $14.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $678.93. 123,750 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 144,162. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Dillard’s has a 12 month low of $282.24 and a 12 month high of $741.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $652.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $584.02.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $8.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.88. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.90%.The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.73 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Dillard’s will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. 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 Wednesday, December 31st. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is 3.26%.

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.