The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Sells $1,050,670.61 in Stock

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $1,050,670.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,760,187 shares in the company, valued at $90,420,806.19. This represents a 1.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Buckle Stock Performance

BKE opened at $50.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.14. The Buckle, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.87 and a fifty-two week high of $54.25.

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

Buckle Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKE. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Buckle by 52.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Buckle by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Buckle during the 3rd quarter worth about $86,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Buckle by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.