The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Dennis H. Nelson Sells 20,453 Shares of Stock

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $1,050,670.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,760,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,420,806.19. The trade was a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Buckle Stock Performance

Buckle stock opened at $50.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.63 and a 200 day moving average of $42.78. The Buckle, Inc. has a one year low of $34.87 and a one year high of $54.25.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $293.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 37,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 59,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,636,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Buckle by 2.8% during the 2nd 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 period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BKE. UBS Group raised shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a 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.

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.