4,987 Shares in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Buckle by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Buckle during the third quarter worth approximately $86,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Buckle by 38.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Buckle by 85.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Buckle by 187.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $51.26 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $48.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.19. The Buckle, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.87 and a fifty-two week high of $54.25. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.14.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $293.60 million. Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 EPS.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $2.50 per share. This represents a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKE. StockNews.com downgraded Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.73, for a total value of $853,503.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,863,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,761,851.96. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total value of $129,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,759.10. The trade was a 10.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,265 shares of company stock worth $6,414,313. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.