Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Separately, UBS Group raised shares of 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 Trading Down 0.1 %

Buckle stock opened at $47.23 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.74. Buckle has a 52 week low of $34.87 and a 52 week high of $49.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.14.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $282.39 million during the quarter. Buckle had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 46.17%.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 24,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total value of $1,046,825.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,924,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,688,978.84. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total value of $661,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 80,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,315,029.50. This represents a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,931 shares of company stock valued at $6,080,458 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKE. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Buckle by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 60.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Buckle during the first quarter valued at approximately $70,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Buckle by 119.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Buckle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,000. 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.