The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Short Interest Update

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,760,000 shares, a decline of 11.0% from the October 15th total of 3,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 378,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.3 days. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BKE. UBS Group upgraded 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. StockNews.com upgraded Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Buckle Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BKE traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $47.78. 372,376 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,246. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.14. Buckle has a 12 month low of $34.87 and a 12 month high of $49.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.63 and a 200 day moving average of $40.56.

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

Buckle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total transaction of $661,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 80,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,029.50. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total transaction of $877,433.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,822,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,187,223.40. The trade was a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 142,931 shares of company stock valued at $6,080,458. 39.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Buckle by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,311,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,638,000 after purchasing an additional 24,051 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Buckle during the 1st quarter worth $3,073,000. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Buckle during the 1st quarter valued at $804,000. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of Buckle during the 1st quarter valued at $856,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Buckle by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 125,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 17,010 shares during the period. 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.