The Buckle, Inc. Same Store Sales Grow 1.8% in March (NYSE:BKE)

Buckle's (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) same store sales rose 1.8% during the month of March. Buckle's stock climbed by 0% in the first day of trading following the news.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Buckle from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Buckle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th.

Buckle Price Performance

NYSE:BKE remained flat at $40.27 during mid-day trading on Monday. 316,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 493,055. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.23. Buckle has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $48.15. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $38.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.28.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 15th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $382.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.63 million. Buckle had a net margin of 17.44% and a return on equity of 50.88%. The firm's revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Buckle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Buckle by 167.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,047,168 shares of the company's stock worth $34,598,000 after purchasing an additional 655,866 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Buckle by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,888,951 shares of the company's stock worth $128,491,000 after purchasing an additional 381,525 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Buckle by 97.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 693,633 shares of the company's stock worth $22,918,000 after purchasing an additional 342,352 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Buckle by 283.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 435,720 shares of the company's stock worth $14,396,000 after purchasing an additional 322,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Buckle by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,148,796 shares of the company's stock worth $54,591,000 after purchasing an additional 288,056 shares during the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B.