Optimist Retirement Group LLC Sells 682 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC lessened its stake in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 682 shares during the quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Buckle were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Buckle by 3.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Buckle by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Buckle during the 2nd quarter worth $539,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Buckle by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Stock Up 0.2 %

Buckle stock opened at $46.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.74. The Buckle, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.87 and a twelve month high of $54.25.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.01). Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The company had revenue of $293.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. Buckle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $2.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle’s payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $490,485.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 214,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,053,415.07. The trade was a 4.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total transaction of $1,045,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,872,468.66. The trade was a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,589 shares of company stock worth $4,869,767 in the last 90 days. 39.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKE has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. 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.

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.