Guess? (NYSE:GES) Stock Price Up 9.6% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) shares were up 9.6% on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $11.16 and last traded at $11.00. Approximately 1,526,857 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 1,515,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.04.

The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $932.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $916.75 million. Guess? had a return on equity of 23.29% and a net margin of 3.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share.

Guess? Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. Guess?’s payout ratio is 100.84%.

Guess? announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 38.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Guess? in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Guess? from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guess?

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Guess? by 4.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,215,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,466,000 after purchasing an additional 54,990 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Guess? by 216.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 2,299 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Guess? by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 311,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,274,000 after buying an additional 19,750 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Guess? by 8,708.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 691,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,910,000 after buying an additional 683,185 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Guess? by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 72,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 5,906 shares during the last quarter. 61.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Guess? Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $561.14 million, a P/E ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.60 and a 200 day moving average of $14.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

About Guess?

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.