Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 13,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Buckle by 1,928.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Buckle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Buckle by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Buckle by 162.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Buckle during the third quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:BKE traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,435. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.68. Buckle, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.93 and a 1 year high of $61.69.

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

Buckle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In related news, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 30,000 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.57, for a total value of $1,637,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,729.98. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bill L. Fairfield sold 2,500 shares of Buckle 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 transaction, the director directly owned 52,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,351,231.52. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 48,700 shares of company stock worth $2,635,960 in the last quarter. 39.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKE. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Buckle from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Buckle from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.