UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Stock

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) had its target price raised by analysts at UBS Group from $194.00 to $198.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 53.64% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Dillard’s from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

Shares of Dillard’s stock traded down $5.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $427.10. 35,582 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 117,638. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $372.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $397.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.86. Dillard’s has a one year low of $314.57 and a one year high of $476.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during 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 was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Dillard’s will post 31.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert C. Connor bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $346.82 per share, for a total transaction of $34,682.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,051,960. The trade was a 0.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DDS. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Dillard’s by 15.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Dillard’s during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Dillard’s by 2.1% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.