The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Sells $1,244,606.46 in Stock

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 30,678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $1,244,606.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,675,657 shares in the company, valued at $67,981,404.49. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Buckle Price Performance

BKE opened at $41.33 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.57. The Buckle, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.12 and a fifty-two week high of $54.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.94.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 14th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.09. Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The company had revenue of $379.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. Buckle’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BKE. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Buckle in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKE. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 6.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 3.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,852,000 after buying an additional 5,185 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 15,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Buckle during the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Buckle by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 7,570 shares in the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Buckle

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.