Guess? (NYSE:GES) Stock Price Up 9.6% After Earnings Beat

Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES - Get Free Report) was up 9.6% during mid-day trading 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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Guess? had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 23.29%. The company had revenue of $932.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $916.75 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. Guess?'s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Guess? Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. Guess?'s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.84%.

Guess? announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 38.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GES. UBS Group dropped their target price on Guess? from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Guess? in a research note on Friday.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guess?

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Guess? in the 4th quarter worth $2,349,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guess? in the fourth quarter worth about $2,191,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Guess? by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,383,177 shares of the company's stock worth $19,447,000 after purchasing an additional 167,782 shares during the last quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 95.6% during the fourth quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 463,726 shares of the company's stock worth $6,520,000 after purchasing an additional 226,705 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Guess? by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 77,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 27,558 shares during the last quarter. 61.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Guess? Trading Down 11.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $499.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 1.43. The company's fifty day moving average is $11.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.72.

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.