Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DDS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Dillard’s by 177.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Dillard’s by 85.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Dillard’s by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 261 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Grove Street Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s during the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of Dillard’s stock opened at $363.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.89. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 12 month low of $328.00 and a 12 month high of $510.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $423.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $417.34.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $13.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $15.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is currently 2.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total value of $130,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,167 shares in the company, valued at $505,836.15. The trade was a 20.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

About Dillard’s

Dillard’s, Inc engages in the retail of fashion apparel, cosmetics, and home furnishings, and other consumer goods. It operates through the Retail Operations and Construction segments. The Retail Operations segment comprises sells cosmetics, ladies’ apparel, ladies’ accessories and lingerie, juniors’ and children’s apparel, men’s apparel and accessories, shoes, and home and furniture products.