Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Buckle (NYSE:BKE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Separately, UBS Group raised shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKE opened at $51.53 on Thursday. Buckle has a 52-week low of $34.87 and a 52-week high of $54.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.41.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.01). Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The firm had revenue of $293.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $490,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,053,415.07. This represents a 4.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $879,479.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,842,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,248,957. The trade was a 1.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,265 shares of company stock worth $6,414,313. 39.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 52.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Buckle by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 37,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in Buckle by 60.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Buckle by 0.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 59,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Buckle by 2.8% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

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.