Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on GES shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Guess? from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Guess? from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Guess? from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $37.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Guess? in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Guess? from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th.

Guess? Stock Performance

GES stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.54. 1,732,163 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,198,387. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.04. Guess? has a one year low of $17.21 and a one year high of $33.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 1.98.

Guess? (NYSE:GES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.46. Guess? had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $891.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $855.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Guess? will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Guess? Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. Guess?'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Insider Activity at Guess?

In other Guess? news, CEO Carlos Alberini sold 138,203 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.53, for a total transaction of $4,219,337.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,131,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,546,984.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 41.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Guess? by 14.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,141,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,910,000 after buying an additional 141,000 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Guess? in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,784,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Guess? by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 800,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,452,000 after buying an additional 90,205 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Guess? by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 978,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,568,000 after buying an additional 66,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Guess? by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.74% of the company's stock.

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.