Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Buckle (NYSE:BKE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

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

Buckle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKE opened at $51.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.98. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.15. Buckle has a one year low of $34.87 and a one year high of $54.25.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its earnings results 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 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Buckle’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.6%. Buckle’s payout ratio is 35.53%.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other Buckle news, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $490,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 214,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,053,415.07. The trade was a 4.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total value of $1,045,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,554 shares in the company, valued at $7,872,468.66. This trade represents a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,812 shares of company stock worth $5,560,809. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKE. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Buckle by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,100,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,589,000 after purchasing an additional 90,190 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Buckle by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,341,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,566,000 after buying an additional 29,349 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Buckle by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,338,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,849,000 after buying an additional 72,532 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Buckle by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,216,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,509,000 after acquiring an additional 48,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Buckle by 4.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,142,000 after acquiring an additional 36,472 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.