The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,308 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Buckle were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on BKE. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Buckle in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd.

Buckle Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $43.28 on Friday. The Buckle, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.12 and a twelve month high of $54.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.18.

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

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.99%.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 43,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.72, for a total transaction of $1,744,303.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,706,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,775,626.20. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,358 shares of company stock valued at $3,706,836. Corporate insiders own 39.00% 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.