Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. Sells 1,400 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Buckle accounts for 1.6% of Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Buckle worth $2,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 60.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Buckle during the third quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Buckle by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Buckle Price Performance

BKE stock opened at $46.10 on Thursday. The Buckle, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $54.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.74.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $293.60 million. Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. Buckle’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $2.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a yield of 2.6%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total value of $1,087,690.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,781,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,747,615.20. This trade represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $490,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,089 shares in the company, valued at $11,053,415.07. This represents a 4.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,589 shares of company stock worth $4,869,767. 39.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

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.