Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,380,000 shares, a drop of 13.3% from the April 30th total of 7,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 21.4% of the company's shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guess?

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Guess? by 713.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Guess? by 9,137.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,258 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Guess? by 4,168.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,226 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Guess? by 3,085.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 4,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.74% of the company's stock.

Guess? Stock Up 3.5%

Guess? stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.15. 959,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,211,469. The company's 50-day moving average is $10.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.47. 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? has a 52-week low of $8.48 and a 52-week high of $24.64. The firm has a market cap of $579.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.20.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company 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 company's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Guess? will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Guess? announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 38.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Guess? Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 16th. Guess?'s payout ratio is 187.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on GES. UBS Group upped their price target on Guess? from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Guess? in a report on Monday.

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.

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