Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $2.20 Million Holdings in Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Buckle, Inc. by 29.9%, now owning 57,368 shares valued at approximately $2.2 million.
• Multiple large investors have also expanded their positions in Buckle, with Charles Schwab boosting its holdings by 5.8% and Invesco lifting its ownership by 42.1% in the same quarter.
• Buckle reported earnings of $0.89 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.83, and achieved a revenue increase of 8.3% year-over-year.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 29.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,368 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,211 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Buckle worth $2,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Buckle by 5.6% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,334 shares of the company's stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Buckle in the 1st quarter valued at $256,000. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Buckle by 239.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of Buckle by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 113,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 47,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Buckle by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BKE shares. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In other news, Director John P. Peetz sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,316,746.02. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 20,000 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,292,890.48. This represents a 26.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,320,030 over the last quarter. Insiders own 39.00% of the company's stock.

Buckle Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of BKE stock traded up $1.41 on Thursday, reaching $61.21. The company had a trading volume of 167,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,207. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.62 and a 200-day moving average of $43.90. Buckle, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.12 and a 12 month high of $61.10.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 16.12%.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 prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Buckle's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. Buckle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.00%.

Buckle 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.