Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Rating Increased to Neutral at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle (NYSE:BKE) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. UBS Group currently has $46.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $31.00.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Buckle Stock Down 1.7 %

BKE stock opened at $47.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.52. Buckle has a 12 month low of $34.63 and a 12 month high of $49.78.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter. Buckle had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 46.17%. The firm had revenue of $282.39 million for the quarter.

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 issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 24,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,924,811 shares in the company, valued at $81,688,978.84. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 80,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,029.50. This trade represents a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,931 shares of company stock worth $6,080,458 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Buckle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKE. Impala Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 365,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,049,000 after buying an additional 110,273 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Buckle in the third quarter valued at about $430,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Buckle in the third quarter worth about $522,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Buckle by 5.7% in the third 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. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Buckle by 60.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.