Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Director Bill Fairfield Sells 2,500 Shares

Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE) Director Bill Fairfield sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.44, for a total transaction of $111,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,351,231.52. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of BKE traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.31. The company had a trading volume of 424,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,357. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.40. Buckle, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.39 and a 1-year high of $61.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.08.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 29th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.18. Buckle had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 47.35%. The company had revenue of $288.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.68 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKE. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 94,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 8,202 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 99,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,815,000 after purchasing an additional 13,189 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 1,928.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Buckle by 323.6% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 20,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BKE. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Buckle from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Buckle from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

Buckle Company Profile

Buckle, Inc is a retailer specializing in casual apparel, footwear and accessories for young men and women. The company is known for its denim-focused collections, offering both private-label lines and curated brand-name merchandise. Its product assortment includes jeans, tops, outerwear, shoes and a variety of accessories such as belts, jewelry and handbags, all aimed at blending contemporary style with everyday comfort.

Founded in 1948 in Kearney, Nebraska, Buckle began as a single clothing store and has since expanded into a nationwide chain.