Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

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

Buckle Price Performance

Shares of Buckle stock opened at $51.53 on Thursday. Buckle has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $54.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.14.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 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 company had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Buckle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.73, for a total value of $853,503.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,863,452 shares in the company, valued at $77,761,851.96. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $490,485.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 214,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,053,415.07. The trade was a 4.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,265 shares of company stock valued at $6,414,313. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impala Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Buckle by 43.3% in the third quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 365,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,049,000 after purchasing an additional 110,273 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Buckle during the third quarter valued at $691,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 125,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,631,000 after buying an additional 17,010 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,142,000 after buying an additional 36,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Buckle by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 716,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,452,000 after buying an additional 87,690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Company Profile

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.