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

Shares of Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.00.

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

Guess? Stock Performance

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

Guess? (NYSE:GES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.46. Guess? had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 7.14%. The firm had revenue of $891.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $855.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Guess? will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guess? Announces Dividend

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

Guess? announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, April 1st that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 14.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Carlos Alberini sold 211,797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.32, for a total value of $6,421,685.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,499,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 41.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GES. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guess? in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Guess? during the third quarter valued at $200,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Guess? by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Guess? by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Guess? by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.74% of the company’s stock.

About Guess?

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.