Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Buckle (NYSE:BKE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Separately, UBS Group raised Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Buckle Price Performance

BKE opened at $40.21 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 1.14. Buckle has a 12 month low of $34.87 and a 12 month high of $54.25.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $2.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total transaction of $1,045,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,872,468.66. The trade was a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total value of $1,087,690.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,781,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,747,615.20. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 104,542 shares of company stock valued at $5,267,351 in the last three months. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Buckle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKE. Creative Planning increased its position in Buckle by 64.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 27,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 10,751 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Buckle by 52.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Buckle by 38.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Buckle by 13.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Buckle by 6.0% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.