Polaris Capital Management LLC Has $1.19 Million Stake in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Polaris Capital Management LLC lowered its position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Buckle were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Buckle by 52.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Buckle by 60.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Buckle in the third quarter valued at about $86,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Buckle by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Trading Up 0.2 %

BKE opened at $44.07 on Tuesday. The Buckle, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $54.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $2.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.53%.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other Buckle news, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $129,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,143,759.10. The trade was a 10.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total value of $1,054,761.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,739,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,718,082.38. The trade was a 1.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 93,589 shares of company stock valued at $4,869,767. 39.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.