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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Buckle Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.98. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.14.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $293.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.60 million. Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Buckle news, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $490,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 214,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,053,415.07. This represents a 4.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total transaction of $854,526.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,904,358 shares in the company, valued at $79,564,077.24. The trade was a 1.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 127,765 shares of company stock worth $5,524,118. 39.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,311,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,638,000 after purchasing an additional 24,051 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Buckle in the third quarter worth $691,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Buckle by 15.7% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 125,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,631,000 after acquiring an additional 17,010 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Buckle by 14.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 716,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,452,000 after acquiring an additional 87,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Buckle during the 3rd quarter worth about $473,000. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.