Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $50.70 and last traded at $50.70, with a volume of 31507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Buckle Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.90.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.60 million. Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 EPS.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total transaction of $877,433.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,822,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,187,223.40. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total transaction of $661,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 80,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,315,029.50. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 142,931 shares of company stock worth $6,080,458 over the last quarter. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKE. Impala Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Buckle by 43.3% in the third quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 365,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,049,000 after acquiring an additional 110,273 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Buckle in the third quarter valued at $4,753,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Buckle by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,100,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,589,000 after acquiring an additional 90,190 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Buckle by 14.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 716,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,452,000 after purchasing an additional 87,690 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Buckle by 5.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,338,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,849,000 after purchasing an additional 72,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

About Buckle

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.