Insider Selling: The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) EVP Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total transaction of $1,045,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,872,468.66. The trade was a 11.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Buckle Stock Up 1.4 %

BKE opened at $52.18 on Friday. The Buckle, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.87 and a 52 week high of $54.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.14.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.01). Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. The business had revenue of $293.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $293.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $2.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. Buckle’s payout ratio is 35.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Buckle by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 6.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,142,000 after purchasing an additional 36,472 shares during the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 43.3% during the third quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 365,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,049,000 after purchasing an additional 110,273 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Buckle during the 3rd quarter worth $430,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

About Buckle

The Buckle, Inc operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the United States. It markets a selection of brand name casual apparel, including denims, other casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, outerwear, accessories, and footwear, as well as private label merchandise primarily comprising BKE, Buckle Black, Salvage, Red by BKE, Daytrip, Gimmicks, Gilded Intent, FITZ + EDDI, Willow & Root, Outpost Makers, Departwest, Sterling & Stitch, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B.