Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Buckle (NYSE:BKE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Separately, UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Buckle Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Buckle stock opened at $47.65 on Monday. Buckle has a 12 month low of $34.87 and a 12 month high of $49.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.79.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $282.39 million during 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Buckle’s payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Insider Activity at Buckle

In other news, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total value of $661,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 80,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,029.50. This represents a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 24,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total transaction of $1,046,825.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,924,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,688,978.84. The trade was a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 142,931 shares of company stock worth $6,080,458 in the last 90 days. 39.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 60.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Buckle during the first quarter worth approximately $70,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 119.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Buckle in the third quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

About Buckle

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.