Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Announces Earnings Results

Key Points

• Buckle reported earnings of $0.89 per share, exceeding expectations of $0.83 by $0.06, with a net margin of 15.95%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, yielding 2.6% annually, with a payout ratio of 35.99%.
• Despite strong earnings, Buckle's stock declined by 0.3% following the earnings announcement.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.06, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $305.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.61 million. Buckle had a return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 16.12%.Buckle's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS.

Buckle Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Buckle stock traded up $1.19 on Wednesday, hitting $56.32. The stock had a trading volume of 161,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,711. Buckle has a twelve month low of $33.12 and a twelve month high of $57.53. The business's 50 day moving average is $49.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.05.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. Buckle's payout ratio is 35.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Buckle news, Director John P. Peetz sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.74, for a total transaction of $83,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,623 shares in the company, valued at $1,316,746.02. This represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.84, for a total value of $498,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 85,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,253,943.68. The trade was a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,953 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,125 over the last 90 days. 39.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 74.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 245,140 shares of the company's stock worth $11,117,000 after purchasing an additional 105,017 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 119.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 207,057 shares of the company's stock worth $9,390,000 after purchasing an additional 112,649 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 322.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 166,626 shares of the company's stock worth $7,556,000 after purchasing an additional 127,177 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Buckle by 61.2% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 142,124 shares of the company's stock worth $6,445,000 after purchasing an additional 53,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Buckle by 407.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 106,701 shares of the company's stock worth $5,055,000 after acquiring an additional 85,682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Buckle from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.