Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Buckle (NYSE:BKE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Separately, UBS Group downgraded Buckle from a neutral rating to a sell rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $34.00 in a report on Friday, January 5th.

Buckle Stock Performance

NYSE:BKE opened at $36.55 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.67. Buckle has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $48.15. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 1.23.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 15th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.15. Buckle had a return on equity of 50.88% and a net margin of 17.44%. The firm had revenue of $382.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. Buckle’s payout ratio is 31.75%.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKE. 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 valued at $34,598,000 after acquiring an additional 655,866 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,888,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,491,000 after buying an additional 381,525 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 693,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,918,000 after buying an additional 342,352 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Buckle by 283.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 435,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,396,000 after buying an additional 322,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,148,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,591,000 after buying an additional 288,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B.