Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) Short Interest Down 7.6% in October

Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a drop of 7.6% from the September 30th total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 157,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days. Currently, 13.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert C. Connor purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $346.82 per share, with a total value of $34,682.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 78,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,051,960. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 33.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dillard’s

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Dillard’s by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 394,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,255,000 after acquiring an additional 52,974 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 124,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,696,000 after acquiring an additional 32,900 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 1.3% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 99,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,798,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 16.7% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 49,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,803,000 after purchasing an additional 7,006 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Dillard’s by 2.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 42,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,850,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.15% of the company’s stock.

Dillard’s Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DDS traded down $5.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $371.79. 115,508 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 116,471. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $364.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $400.39. Dillard’s has a 1-year low of $286.39 and a 1-year high of $476.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.85.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $4.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.97 by ($1.38). The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 34.29% and a net margin of 9.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.98 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Dillard’s will post 31.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is currently 2.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on DDS shares. StockNews.com raised Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Dillard’s from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $202.00 to $194.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Dillard’s Company Profile

Dillard's, Inc operates retail department stores in the southeastern, southwestern, and midwestern areas of the United States. The company's stores offer merchandise, including fashion apparel for women, men, and children; and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods.