Alpine Associates Management Inc. Makes New $5.77 Million Investment in Guess?, Inc. $GES

Alpine Associates Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 345,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,772,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Guess? by 9.5% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Guess? by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 20,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 14,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Guess? by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 14,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Guess? by 12.8% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 5,256 shares in the last quarter. 61.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GES. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guess? in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.75 target price on shares of Guess? in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Guess? from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.75.

Guess? Price Performance

GES stock opened at $16.82 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $877.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.96. Guess?, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.48 and a 52-week high of $17.15.

Guess? (NYSE:GES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $791.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.93 million. Guess? had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 2.56%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Guess?, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Guess? Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. Guess?’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.08%.

Guess? Profile

Guess?, Inc is a global fashion brand known for its lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories. The company designs, markets and distributes a portfolio of apparel products under various brands, including its flagship Guess line and the premium Marciano label. Through its vertically integrated business model, Guess? oversees product development, manufacturing arrangements, marketing and distribution across wholesale and retail channels.

Guess?’s product offerings span denim, ready-to-wear, handbags, watches, jewelry and footwear for men, women and children.