SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 12,334 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 137.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,327 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,334 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Buckle were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKE. Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Buckle by 43.3% during the third quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 365,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,049,000 after buying an additional 110,273 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Buckle during the third quarter worth about $691,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Buckle by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,142,000 after buying an additional 36,472 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Buckle during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,629,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Buckle by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $48.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 1.15. The Buckle, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.87 and a 12-month high of $54.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.66 and a 200 day moving average of $45.45.

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

Buckle Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BKE shares. UBS Group upgraded Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Activity at Buckle

In other news, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $490,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,089 shares in the company, valued at $11,053,415.07. The trade was a 4.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total value of $1,087,690.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,781,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,747,615.20. This trade represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,042 shares of company stock valued at $5,747,200 over the last quarter. 39.80% of the stock is owned by 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.