KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 1,500 Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DDS. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Dillard’s by 9.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,658,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Dillard’s by 10.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 5,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Dillard’s by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Dillard’s by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dillard’s Price Performance

Dillard’s stock opened at $361.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $425.44 and a 200-day moving average of $417.71. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $328.00 and a 52-week high of $510.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.89.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $9.84 by $3.64. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Dillard’s had a return on equity of 32.13% and a net margin of 9.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $15.44 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 33.25 EPS for the current year.

Dillard’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Dillard’s’s payout ratio is currently 2.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DDS. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Dillard’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Dillard’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Dillard’s from $200.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Tom W. Bolin sold 300 shares of Dillard’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.45, for a total transaction of $130,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,836.15. The trade was a 20.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Dillard’s Profile

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.