Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

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

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

Buckle Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BKE opened at $51.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.14. Buckle has a 12 month low of $34.87 and a 12 month high of $54.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.25.

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

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is 35.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Buckle news, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $129,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,759.10. This represents a 10.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $879,479.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,842,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,248,957. This represents a 1.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,265 shares of company stock worth $6,414,313 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.