Movado Group (NYSE:MOV) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Movado Group Inc. (NYSE:MOV) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $29.82, but opened at $31.62. Movado Group shares last traded at $32.2980, with a volume of 116,769 shares.

The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.26. Movado Group had a return on equity of 6.09% and a net margin of 3.96%.The firm had revenue of $142.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 EPS.

Movado Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Movado Group’s dividend payout ratio is 120.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MOV shares. Wall Street Zen raised Movado Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $31.50 price target on shares of Movado Group in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Movado Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MOV. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Movado Group by 212.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 671,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,226,000 after purchasing an additional 456,727 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Movado Group by 153.4% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after buying an additional 97,566 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Movado Group by 94.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 186,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,853,000 after buying an additional 90,578 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Movado Group by 14.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 636,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,712,000 after acquiring an additional 80,109 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Movado Group by 45.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 255,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,851,000 after acquiring an additional 79,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.08% of the company’s stock.

Movado Group Stock Up 8.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $711.13 million, a P/E ratio of 27.82 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.59.

About Movado Group

Movado Group, Inc is a global designer, manufacturer and distributor of watches and related jewelry products. The company’s portfolio encompasses both owned and licensed brands, offering a wide range of timepieces from luxury to accessible price points. Major owned brands include Movado, Concord, and Ebel, alongside newer acquisitions such as MVMT and Olivia Burton. In addition, Movado Group holds licensing agreements to produce watches under fashion names like Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Lacoste and Scuderia Ferrari.

Movado Group’s product line spans classic dress watches, sport and dive models, fashion-forward designs and limited-edition collections.