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

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

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

Buckle Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $51.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.41 and its 200-day moving average is $43.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.14. Buckle has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $54.25.

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

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.6%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,089 shares in the company, valued at $11,053,415.07. This trade represents a 4.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,265 shares of company stock valued at $6,414,313 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKE. Impala Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 110,273 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Buckle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,753,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Buckle by 4.5% during the 2nd 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. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Buckle by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 716,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,452,000 after purchasing an additional 87,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased 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 worth $58,849,000 after purchasing an additional 72,532 shares in the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.