Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES - Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,290,336 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 228,601 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 6.39% of Guess? worth $46,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Guess? by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 216,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,039,000 after purchasing an additional 9,211 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Guess? in the 4th quarter valued at $191,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in Guess? by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 42,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 23,247 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Guess? during the 4th quarter worth $1,459,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Guess? during the fourth quarter worth $765,000. Institutional investors own 61.74% of the company's stock.

Guess? Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE GES traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.18. The stock had a trading volume of 528,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,635. The company's 50 day moving average price is $10.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.54. Guess?, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.48 and a twelve month high of $27.41. The firm has a market cap of $579.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.25.

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

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

Guess? Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.73%. Guess?'s payout ratio is currently 187.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on GES shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Guess? from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Guess? in a research note on Friday, April 4th.

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.