Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $35.15, but opened at $37.49. Buckle shares last traded at $35.85, with a volume of 81,102 shares changing hands.

The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.09. Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The business had revenue of $379.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $1,050,670.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,760,187 shares in the company, valued at $90,420,806.19. This trade represents a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 97,382 shares of company stock worth $4,446,403 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKE. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Buckle during the third quarter worth about $691,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Buckle during the third quarter worth approximately $86,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 158.4% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 3,711 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 28.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 32,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after buying an additional 7,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 1.5% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,361,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.57.

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.