Dillards Dividend Delusion

Dillards (DDS) declares a dividend of $0.04 per share. They have red ink everywhere but the dividend continues. The yield is approximately 4.46% if you believe in the dividend. Management is signalling that everything is OK by keeping the dividend in force. That’s a huge statement for a retailer in this environment. According to their own press release for the 13 week period ending Nov 3, 2008 sales are down some 10%; 9% for same store sales.