Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 74,614 Shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Buckle, Inc. by 5.8%, owning approximately 1.36 million shares valued at around $52 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Buckle's stock has shown positive performance, reporting a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.70, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $272.12 million, up 3.7% from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 35.99%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,360,826 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,614 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.66% of Buckle worth $52,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caption Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Buckle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Buckle in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Buckle in the 4th quarter valued at $111,000. Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Buckle in the first quarter valued at $115,000. Finally, Novem Group acquired a new position in Buckle during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $890,114.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,655,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,034,478.08. This trade represents a 1.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 10,000 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.84, for a total transaction of $498,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 85,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,253,943.68. This represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 39.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Buckle from $40.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.00.

Buckle Stock Performance

BKE traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.05. The company had a trading volume of 103,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 532,294. Buckle, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.12 and a twelve month high of $57.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $48.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.40.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $272.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $264.28 million. Buckle had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 43.13%. Buckle's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. Buckle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.99%.

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.