JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stake in Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in shares of Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES - Free Report) by 91.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,602 shares of the company's stock after selling 204,879 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings in Guess? were worth $276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EMC Capital Management grew its position in Guess? by 158.0% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,908 shares of the company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6,068 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Guess? by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 14,291 shares of the company's stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 7,472 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Guess? during the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Guess? during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Guess? by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 20,498 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,070 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.74% of the company's stock.

Guess? Trading Down 2.6 %

Guess? stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.66. 654,429 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,376. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $10.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $552.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 1.25. Guess?, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.48 and a fifty-two week high of $27.41.

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

Guess? declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 38.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Guess? Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.26%. Guess?'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 187.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GES shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Guess? in a 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

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.