Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 12,988 The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Buckle by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,663,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,518,000 after purchasing an additional 137,972 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Buckle by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,357,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,957,000 after purchasing an additional 10,178 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Buckle by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,286,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,352,000 after buying an additional 69,258 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Buckle by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 937,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,636,000 after buying an additional 100,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,688 shares of the company's stock worth $41,454,000 after buying an additional 16,610 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKE shares. StockNews.com raised Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Buckle in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Buckle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKE traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.72. 39,406 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 554,419. The company's 50 day moving average is $36.72 and its 200 day moving average is $43.57. The Buckle, Inc. has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $54.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.94.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 14th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.09. Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The business had revenue of $379.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. Buckle's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Buckle's payout ratio is 36.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 30,678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $1,244,606.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,675,657 shares in the company, valued at $67,981,404.49. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 130,151 shares of company stock worth $5,148,629. Corporate insiders own 39.00% of the company's stock.

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.