Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Buckle, Inc. by 1.7%, owning 3,884,666 shares worth $148.86 million after selling 69,161 shares in the first quarter.
• Buckle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, which was recently paid out and represents an annualized yield of 2.5%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Buckle, with UBS raising its price objective from $40.00 to $51.00 and upgrading the stock from "hold" to "buy."

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,884,666 shares of the company's stock after selling 69,161 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.59% of Buckle worth $148,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKE. Caption Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Buckle in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Buckle in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Buckle in the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Buckle in the first quarter valued at $115,000. Finally, Novem Group purchased a new position in shares of Buckle in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of Buckle stock traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $55.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 553,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,164. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.74. Buckle, Inc. has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $57.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Buckle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.00%.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other news, Director John P. Peetz sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.74, for a total value of $83,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,316,746.02. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,253,943.68. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,953 shares of company stock worth $1,472,125. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Buckle from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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.