Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

GES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Guess? from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Guess? from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Guess? from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Guess? in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Guess? from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guess? news, CEO Carlos Alberini sold 138,203 shares of Guess? stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.53, for a total transaction of $4,219,337.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,131,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,546,984.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 41.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guess?

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Guess? by 266.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Guess? in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Guess? by 405.6% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Guess? by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in Guess? by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.74% of the company’s stock.

Guess? Price Performance

Guess? stock opened at $26.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.20. Guess? has a 52 week low of $17.21 and a 52 week high of $33.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.98.

Guess? (NYSE:GES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $891.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $855.54 million. Guess? had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Guess? will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guess? Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. Guess?’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Guess? declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, April 1st that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Guess? Company Profile

Guess?, Inc designs, markets, distributes, and licenses lifestyle collections of apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. It operates through five segments: Americas Retail, Americas Wholesale, Europe, Asia, and Licensing. The company's clothing collection includes jeans, pants, skirts, dresses, shorts, blouses, shirts, jackets, activewear, knitwear, and intimate apparel.