Denali Advisors LLC Sells 26,900 Shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

Key Points

• Denali Advisors LLC cut its stake in Buckle by 20% in the fourth quarter, selling 26,900 shares and leaving it with 107,700 shares valued at about $5.75 million.
• Buckle reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.59 beating estimates and revenue of $399.14 million slightly ahead of forecasts; revenue also rose 5.2% year over year.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders, recently paying a $0.35 quarterly dividend ($1.40 annualized) for a 2.7% yield, while analysts currently show a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $53.

Denali Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,900 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC owned about 0.21% of Buckle worth $5,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Buckle by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,970,767 shares of the company's stock worth $212,118,000 after purchasing an additional 89,441 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Buckle by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,303,606 shares of the company's stock worth $76,471,000 after purchasing an additional 13,556 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Buckle by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,209,869 shares of the company's stock worth $70,971,000 after purchasing an additional 87,920 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Buckle by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 489,306 shares of the company's stock worth $26,139,000 after purchasing an additional 120,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Buckle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 332,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,485,000 after purchasing an additional 34,398 shares in the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Buckle from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Buckle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Buckle from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Buckle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.00.

Buckle Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $52.45 on Friday. Buckle, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.57 and a twelve month high of $61.69. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.44 and a 200 day moving average of $53.72.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 13th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.08. Buckle had a net margin of 16.16% and a return on equity of 45.18%. The company had revenue of $399.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. Buckle's payout ratio is presently 33.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Buckle news, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.57, for a total transaction of $1,637,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,729.98. The trade was a 26.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Hoffman sold 16,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.80, for a total transaction of $887,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,626,573.60. This represents a 35.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 126,200 shares of company stock valued at $6,517,932. Company insiders own 39.00% of the company's stock.

About Buckle

Buckle, Inc is a retailer specializing in casual apparel, footwear and accessories for young men and women. The company is known for its denim-focused collections, offering both private-label lines and curated brand-name merchandise. Its product assortment includes jeans, tops, outerwear, shoes and a variety of accessories such as belts, jewelry and handbags, all aimed at blending contemporary style with everyday comfort.

Founded in 1948 in Kearney, Nebraska, Buckle began as a single clothing store and has since expanded into a nationwide chain.

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