AlphaQuest LLC Purchases New Stake in Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has acquired a new position by purchasing 35,632 shares of Buckle, Inc., a stake valued at approximately $1.365 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their investments in Buckle, with institutional investors now owning 53.93% of the company's stock.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their ratings on Buckle, with UBS Group setting a new target price of $51.00, up from $40.00.

AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 35,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,365,000. AlphaQuest LLC owned 0.07% of Buckle as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Buckle by 12.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,377 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 2,727 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Buckle by 2.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 165,324 shares of the company's stock worth $6,335,000 after buying an additional 3,688 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Buckle by 36.3% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 13,208 shares of the company's stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 3,521 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Buckle by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,253 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Buckle by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,566 shares of the company's stock worth $893,000 after buying an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $890,114.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,655,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,034,478.08. This trade represents a 1.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 10,000 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.84, for a total transaction of $498,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 85,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,253,943.68. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,953 shares of company stock worth $1,472,125. 39.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Buckle Price Performance

NYSE BKE traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $57.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 153,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,292. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 1.05. Buckle, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.12 and a 52 week high of $57.53.

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

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Buckle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BKE shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Buckle from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.