Guess? (NYSE:GES) Hits New 52-Week High at $32.52

Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $32.52 and last traded at $31.47, with a volume of 1548636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GES. StockNews.com raised shares of Guess? from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target (up previously from $31.00) on shares of Guess? in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Guess? from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Guess? from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Guess? from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Guess? currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.00.

Guess? Trading Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.04 and its 200-day moving average is $23.30.

Guess? (NYSE:GES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $891.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $855.54 million. Guess? had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 30.68%. Guess?’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Guess?, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Guess? Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Guess?’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guess?

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Guess? by 266.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Guess? during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Guess? during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guess? during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Guess? by 732.9% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.74% of the company’s stock.

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.