Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Holdings in Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,066 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,212 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Guess? were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Guess? in the 4th quarter valued at $2,349,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Guess? in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,191,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 54,990 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Guess? by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 77,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 27,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Guess? by 8,708.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 691,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,910,000 after acquiring an additional 683,185 shares in the last quarter. 61.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Guess? Price Performance

Shares of GES stock opened at $10.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.85. Guess?, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.24 and a 12 month high of $31.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $561.14 million, a PE ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.43.

Guess? (NYSE:GES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $932.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $916.75 million. Guess? had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 23.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. Analysts predict that Guess?, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Guess? Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. Guess?’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.84%.

Guess? declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 38.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Guess? 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.