Barclays PLC Lowers Holdings in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Barclays PLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,538 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,584 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Buckle were worth $2,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKE. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Buckle by 2.8% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 228.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 30,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Buckle by 2,350.0% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 60.0% in the second quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 84,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 31,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 0.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,712,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $51.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.14. The Buckle, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.87 and a 12-month high of $54.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.19.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.60 million. Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. Buckle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BKE shares. StockNews.com cut Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In related news, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $490,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 214,089 shares in the company, valued at $11,053,415.07. The trade was a 4.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $7,872,468.66. The trade was a 11.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,265 shares of company stock worth $6,414,313 over the last quarter. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Buckle 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.