Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Buckle (NYSE:BKE) has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased investor confidence.
• UBS Group raised the price target for Buckle from $51.00 to $54.00, suggesting it may be a stable investment with a current consensus rating of "Hold."
• Buckle reported a quarterly EPS of $0.89, exceeding analysts’ expectations and showing an 8.3% revenue increase year-over-year, totaling $305.74 million.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Buckle from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Buckle Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of BKE stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.74. The stock had a trading volume of 217,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,020. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $52.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.79. Buckle has a 12 month low of $33.12 and a 12 month high of $60.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 1.02.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06. Buckle had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 43.97%. The company had revenue of $305.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.61 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Buckle's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In other Buckle news, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 6,000 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.17, for a total transaction of $361,020.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 89,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,389,426.90. This trade represents a 6.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 20,000 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.49, for a total transaction of $1,189,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 55,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,292,890.48. This trade represents a 26.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,320,030. 39.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKE. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 3,732.0% in the first quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 671,251 shares of the company's stock worth $25,722,000 after buying an additional 653,734 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 180.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 284,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,466,000 after acquiring an additional 183,257 shares in 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 valued at $7,556,000 after acquiring an additional 127,177 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Buckle by 13.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,063,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,767,000 after acquiring an additional 126,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 37.1% in the first quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 432,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,571,000 after acquiring an additional 116,833 shares in the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.