Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Buckle, Inc. by 13.5%, acquiring an additional 126,331 shares to reach a total of 1,063,856 shares, valued at approximately $40.77 million.
• Buckle reported earnings of $0.70 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates and achieving a revenue increase of 3.7% year-over-year to $272.12 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, reflecting a 2.5% yield and a payout ratio of 35.99%.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,063,856 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 126,331 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.08% of Buckle worth $40,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKE. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 21,348 shares of the company's stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 32,802 shares of the company's stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,566 shares of the company's stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caption Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Buckle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Buckle Price Performance

BKE stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.15. The stock had a trading volume of 553,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,164. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.05. Buckle, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $57.53. The company's 50-day moving average price is $49.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.74.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $292.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BKE shares. UBS Group raised 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 raised shares of Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,655,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $72,034,478.08. The trade was a 1.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John P. Peetz sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.74, for a total transaction of $83,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,316,746.02. This represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,953 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,125 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company's stock.

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.