Short Interest in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Drops By 9.8%

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, a drop of 9.8% from the July 15th total of 3,360,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 375,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.1 days. Approximately 9.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In related news, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.26, for a total transaction of $100,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,321.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.26, for a total transaction of $100,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,321.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $36,297.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,949,477 shares in the company, valued at $78,622,407.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,227 shares of company stock valued at $1,563,527 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in Buckle by 18.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 2,594 shares during the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 27.4% in the second quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 254,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,410,000 after purchasing an additional 54,727 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 3.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in Buckle by 73.2% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Buckle by 10.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 66,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,451,000 after acquiring an additional 6,466 shares during the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Buckle Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of BKE stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 324,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,130. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 1.14. Buckle has a one year low of $30.31 and a one year high of $48.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.43.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 24th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.05). Buckle had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $262.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Buckle’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 12th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 12th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BKE shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Buckle from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com lowered Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

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.