Guess? (NYSE:GES) Shares Down 4% - Here's Why

Shares of Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES - Get Free Report) were down 4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $10.03 and last traded at $10.01. Approximately 146,110 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,248,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Guess? Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $502.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $10.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.03.

Guess? (NYSE:GES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $932.25 million for 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 was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Guess?, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guess? Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. Guess?'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 187.50%.

Guess? announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 38.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guess?

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 valued at $46,261,000 after purchasing an additional 228,601 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Guess? by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,274,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,040,000 after purchasing an additional 231,926 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 167,782 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Guess? by 160.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,159,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,299,000 after buying an additional 713,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,020,538 shares of the company's stock worth $14,349,000 after acquiring an additional 80,944 shares during the last quarter. 61.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.