Movado Group (NYSE:MOV) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Movado Group Inc. (NYSE:MOV) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.08 and last traded at $23.0850, with a volume of 71144 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MOV. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Movado Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 24th. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $31.50 price target on shares of Movado Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Movado Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Movado Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Northland Securities assumed coverage on shares of Movado Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Movado Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.75.

Movado Group Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $510.66 million, a P/E ratio of 23.75 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.12.

Movado Group (NYSE:MOV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.12). Movado Group had a return on equity of 5.86% and a net margin of 3.33%.The firm had revenue of $186.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Movado Group Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Movado Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Movado Group’s dividend payout ratio is 144.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michelle Kennedy sold 1,290 shares of Movado Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.89, for a total value of $26,948.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,932.73. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 30.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Movado Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in Movado Group in the second quarter worth $5,540,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Movado Group by 1,425.0% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 29,056 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Movado Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $458,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Movado Group by 426.8% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 176,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,684,000 after buying an additional 142,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Movado Group by 86.9% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 27,431 shares during the last quarter. 72.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.