Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 204,446 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 62% from the previous session’s volume of 125,984 shares.The stock last traded at $377.24 and had previously closed at $371.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on DDS shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Dillard’s from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Dillard’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Dillard’s Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $450.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $415.21. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of Dillard’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total transaction of $130,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,836.15. The trade was a 20.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dillard’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $405,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Dillard’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Dillard’s by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,374,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Summit Street Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dillard’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,155,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Dillard’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $285,000. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.