State Street Corp Increases Stake in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

State Street Corp grew its position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,338,395 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 72,532 shares during the period. State Street Corp’s holdings in Buckle were worth $58,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 52.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Buckle by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Buckle in the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 38.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 85.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $879,479.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,842,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,248,957. This represents a 1.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of Buckle 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 directly owns 22,123 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,759.10. This represents a 10.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,812 shares of company stock worth $5,363,642. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Price Performance

BKE stock opened at $49.64 on Thursday. The Buckle, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.87 and a 1 year high of $54.25. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.72.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued 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 currently 35.53%.

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.