Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $2.02 Million Stock Position in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) by 7.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,579 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Dillard’s were worth $2,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DDS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dillard’s during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Dillard’s in the first quarter worth $68,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Dillard’s by 31.0% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Dillard’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $150,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Dillard’s by 45.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 67.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Dillard’s

In other news, Director Robert C. Connor purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $346.82 per share, for a total transaction of $34,682.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 78,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,051,960. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 33.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $202.00 to $194.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dillard’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Dillard’s from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Dillard’s Stock Performance

DDS opened at $332.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $380.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $414.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.85. Dillard’s, Inc. has a 12-month low of $286.39 and a 12-month high of $476.48.

Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Dillard’s, Inc. will post 31.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Dillard’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Dillard’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.27%.

About Dillard’s

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.