Dillard's Shares Continue To Soar (DDS)

After close yesterday, Dillard's, Inc. DDS saw an almost immediate boost in trading, with shares rising nearly 6%. This afternoon, the retailer continued rising, with shares up more than 15% – surpassing the 10-year high that was achieved last December while abolishing the dreaded low of November 21, 2008. At that time, Dillard's was trading at just $2.78. Investors who had purchased 1,000 shares back then would have earned nearly $40,000 today. Granted, few investors had hope for a major recovery story during the economic crisis; they were too busy worrying about their declining portfolios. DDS shares have currently tapered off a little, landing at 12.87%. But investors still seem to be intrigued by the retailer's announcement that it plans to form a wholly-owned REIT. On that news, Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $52 (up from $42). This afternoon, Benzinga's own Roger Nachman took a few moments to analyze the trading surge. Dillard's stock has been picking up since August. In December, the company announced that total sales for November were up 7%. A few days later, Dillard's Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of 4 cents per share on the Class A and Class B common stock offerings. The dividend is payable on February 1, 2011. To support the growth of its online store, dillards.com, Dillard's also announced that it is building a new Internet fulfillment center in Arkansas. But the retailer isn't just about profit and reinforcing its own success. Last week, Dillard's committed to donating more than $1.7 million to Ronald McDonald House Charities. The donation was made possible through the sale of the Southern Living Ultimate Christmas Cookbook, which is available exclusively at Dillard's. The department store chain said that with this record-high contribution, the company has donated more than $7.6 million since it first began contributing to Ronald McDonald Houses in 1994. “Partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities gives all of us at Dillard's an enormous sense of pride,” said Denise Mahaffy, Vice President. “We are honored to support the Ronald McDonald Houses in our communities.” Shoppers look fondly upon corporations that give back to their communities, and in return, investors look fondly upon them as well. Competing retailers like Macy's M have made a point to start their own charities, including Partners in Time, an employee volunteer program that has donated 1.7 million hours of community service since the program began 20 years ago. Macy's values its contribution at more than $28 million. The company did quite well during the holiday shopping season, reporting December sales of $4.619 billion. Earlier this month, Macy's CEO, Terry Lundgren, was upbeat on 2011 and 2012 guidance. JCPenny JCP has been enjoying a similar degree of success, with sales up 9.2% in November, followed by an increase of 3.7% (yoy) in December. Even with the success of other retailers, Dillard's accomplishments are still quite remarkable. Over the next few months, it should be interesting to see what the company does to maintain its impressive growth spurt.