Dillard's margins fall short, shares slump

Dillard's margins fall short, shares slump

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - Dillard's Inc's (DDS.N) quarterly net income rose 85 percent, but its shares fell 11 percent as the department store chain reported a lower retail gross margin than analysts had expected.

Key Points

- Sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, rose 5 percent, besting larger rivals Macy's Inc (M.N), J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP.N) and Kohl's Corp (KSS.N).

- Dillard's, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, had 288 stores as of October 29, down from 296 a year earlier.

MARKET REACTION

JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss said in a note that concerns about gross margin would be a "primary" cause of investor pushback.

Dillard's shares were down 11.3 percent to $48.94 in afternoon trading.

LINKS

- Kohl's on Thursday reported higher gross margins for the quarter.

- Last week, Dillard's reported an 8 percent rise in October same-store sales.

NOTES

* Estimate based on two brokerage forecasts.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York; editing by John Wallace)