Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Makes New $2.72 Million Investment in Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 193,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,720,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.38% of Guess? at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GES. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Guess? by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,290,336 shares of the company's stock worth $46,261,000 after purchasing an additional 228,601 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Guess? by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,274,565 shares of the company's stock worth $46,040,000 after acquiring an additional 231,926 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Guess? by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,383,177 shares of the company's stock worth $19,447,000 after acquiring an additional 167,782 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Guess? by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,020,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,349,000 after acquiring an additional 80,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Guess? by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 715,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,514,000 after acquiring an additional 24,313 shares during the last quarter. 61.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Guess? Price Performance

Shares of GES traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.05. The stock had a trading volume of 913,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,518. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $624.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $10.88 and its 200 day moving average is $13.10. Guess?, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.48 and a 12-month high of $27.30.

Guess? (NYSE:GES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Guess? had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 23.29%. The business had revenue of $932.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $916.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Guess?, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guess? declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 38.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Guess? Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.96%. Guess?'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 187.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GES shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Guess? in a research report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Guess? from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

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.