Short Interest in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Decreases By 11.0%

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,760,000 shares, a decline of 11.0% from the October 15th total of 3,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 378,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.3 days. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Buckle Trading Down 1.7 %

BKE traded down $0.82 on Friday, hitting $47.92. The company had a trading volume of 278,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,728. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.14. Buckle has a 1 year low of $34.63 and a 1 year high of $49.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.54.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $282.39 million for the quarter. Buckle had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 46.17%.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKE has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 24,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total transaction of $1,046,825.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,924,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,688,978.84. The trade was a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total transaction of $661,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 80,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,029.50. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 142,931 shares of company stock valued at $6,080,458 in the last 90 days. 39.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 52.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 0.9% during the third quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 37,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 60.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 2.7% during the second quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 0.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 59,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,636,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.