Guess? (NYSE:GES) Shares Down 5.9% – Should You Sell?

Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) shares fell 5.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $10.04 and last traded at $10.37. 365,364 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,239,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on GES shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Guess? from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Guess? in a research report on Friday, April 4th.

Guess? Stock Up 26.0 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.60. 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 $561.40 million, a P/E ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 1.43.

Guess? (NYSE:GES) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $932.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $916.75 million. Guess? had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 23.29%. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Guess?, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guess? Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. Guess?’s payout ratio is 187.50%.

Guess? announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 38.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guess?

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $16,299,000 after acquiring an additional 713,666 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 8,708.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 691,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,910,000 after purchasing an additional 683,185 shares in the last quarter. Natixis increased its position in shares of Guess? by 743.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 285,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,009,000 after purchasing an additional 251,300 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Guess? by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,274,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,040,000 after buying an additional 231,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Guess? by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,290,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,261,000 after buying an additional 228,601 shares during the last quarter. 61.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.