Graham Capital Management L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Buckle, Inc. by 475.7%, owning around $2.87 million worth of shares as of its latest SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Caption Management LLC and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, have established new positions in Buckle, increasing institutional ownership to 53.93%.
• Analysts recently upgraded Buckle's rating from "hold" to "buy" and set a new average price target of $54.00, reflecting positive outlooks for the stock.

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 475.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,769 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 61,781 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned 0.15% of Buckle worth $2,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Buckle by 515.3% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 294,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,987,000 after purchasing an additional 247,019 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Buckle by 180.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 284,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,466,000 after purchasing an additional 183,257 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Buckle by 13.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,063,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,767,000 after purchasing an additional 126,331 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Buckle during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,850,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Buckle by 42.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 329,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,630,000 after purchasing an additional 97,679 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased 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 Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,655,204 shares in the company, valued at $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 at this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Peetz sold 1,500 shares of the firm'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 owned 23,623 shares in the company, valued at $1,316,746.02. The trade was a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,953 shares of company stock worth $1,472,125 in the last three months. Company insiders own 39.00% of the company's stock.

Buckle Stock Up 4.4%

BKE traded up $2.52 during trading on Thursday, hitting $60.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 638,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,972. Buckle, Inc. has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $60.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $51.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.32.

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

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.