12,013 Shares in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Bought by Range Financial Group LLC

Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Buckle by 52.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Buckle in the third quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 38.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 85.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $1,050,670.61. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,760,187 shares in the company, valued at $90,420,806.19. This trade represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction 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 approximately $11,053,415.07. The trade was a 4.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,812 shares of company stock valued at $5,560,809 in the last three months. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Buckle Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BKE traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.74. The stock had a trading volume of 562,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,805. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.15. The Buckle, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.87 and a 12 month high of $54.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.08.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $293.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

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 issued a dividend of $2.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle’s payout ratio is 35.53%.

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.