Quest Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,960 The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total transaction of $854,526.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,904,358 shares in the company, valued at $79,564,077.24. This trade represents a 1.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 214,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,053,415.07. This trade represents a 4.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 127,765 shares of company stock valued at $5,524,118. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BKE shares. UBS Group raised Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of Buckle stock opened at $52.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.21. The Buckle, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.87 and a twelve month high of $52.24.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last released 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). Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The company had revenue of $293.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Buckle Company Profile

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.