Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

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

Buckle Stock Up 1.4 %

BKE opened at $52.17 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.39. Buckle has a twelve month low of $34.87 and a twelve month high of $54.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.14.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last announced 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). Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $293.60 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $2.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle’s payout ratio is 35.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total value of $1,045,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,554 shares in the company, valued at $7,872,468.66. The trade was a 11.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 22,123 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,759.10. The trade was a 10.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,265 shares of company stock worth $6,270,732 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 43.3% during the 3rd 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 period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Buckle in the third quarter worth $691,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Buckle by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 125,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,631,000 after buying an additional 17,010 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 14.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 716,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,452,000 after acquiring an additional 87,690 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Buckle during the third quarter valued at about $1,629,000. Hedge funds and other 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.