Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Buckle (NYSE:BKE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Separately, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Buckle in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Buckle Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $41.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.50. Buckle has a 1-year low of $33.12 and a 1-year high of $54.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.94.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The firm had revenue of $272.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 30,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $1,244,606.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,675,657 shares in the company, valued at $67,981,404.49. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 130,151 shares of company stock worth $5,148,629 in the last quarter. Insiders own 39.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Buckle by 1,928.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Buckle in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Caption Management LLC purchased a new stake in Buckle in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Buckle by 268.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Buckle in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

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.