Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 12,370 Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Buckle by 12.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,377 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 2,727 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Buckle by 2.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 165,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,335,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Buckle by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 13,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,521 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,253 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Buckle by 3.4% in 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 during the period. 53.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Buckle Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:BKE traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.60. 301,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 438,424. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $46.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.05. Buckle, Inc. has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $54.25.

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

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Buckle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.99%.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 43,915 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.72, for a total value of $1,744,303.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,706,335 shares in the company, valued at $67,775,626.20. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.84, for a total transaction of $498,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,253,943.68. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,046 shares of company stock valued at $4,377,425. 39.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Buckle in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd.

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.