Insider Selling: The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Sells 20,453 Shares of Stock

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $1,050,670.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,760,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,420,806.19. This represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of BKE stock opened at $50.88 on Friday. The Buckle, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.87 and a fifty-two week high of $54.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.86.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.60 million. Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. Buckle’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.04 EPS.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given 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 is presently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BKE. StockNews.com cut shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,100,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,589,000 after buying an additional 90,190 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Buckle by 2.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,341,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,566,000 after acquiring an additional 29,349 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Buckle by 5.7% in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,216,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,509,000 after purchasing an additional 48,436 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,142,000 after purchasing an additional 36,472 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is 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.