Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 588,909 Shares of Guess?, Inc. $GES

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Guess?, Inc. by 18.0%, owning 2,685,656 shares worth approximately $29.73 million after selling 588,909 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.16, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.5%.
• Guess? has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.225, reflecting an annualized dividend of $0.90 with a dividend yield of 5.3%, although its dividend payout ratio is notably negative.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,685,656 shares of the company's stock after selling 588,909 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.18% of Guess? worth $29,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Guess? by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 31,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 713.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 89,903 shares of the company's stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 9,137.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 507.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 3,258 shares during the last quarter. 61.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GES has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Guess? from $13.00 to $16.75 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Small Cap Consu cut shares of Guess? from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $16.75 price objective on shares of Guess? in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.75.

Guess? Stock Down 0.4%

GES traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $16.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 980,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,389. The firm has a market capitalization of $875.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.16 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Guess?, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.48 and a 1 year high of $21.26. The stock's 50-day moving average is $13.63 and its 200-day moving average is $11.99.

Guess? (NYSE:GES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $772.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $758.72 million. Guess? had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Guess?, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Guess? Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. Guess?'s dividend payout ratio is currently 562.50%.

Guess? 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.