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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 10,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,183,177. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

DDS traded down $8.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $605.27. 140,395 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 127,341. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $394.70 and a 1-year high of $741.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $576.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $616.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.16.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 10.09%.The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 35.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DDS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research raised Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Dillard’s in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Dillard’s from $460.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Dillard’s from $524.00 to $449.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dillard’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $521.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.