The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

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

Buckle Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE BKE traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.20. The stock had a trading volume of 70,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,766. Buckle has a 52-week low of $34.87 and a 52-week high of $49.78. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.63.

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

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKE shares. StockNews.com raised Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insider Activity at Buckle

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Buckle by 52.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Buckle by 60.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Buckle in the first quarter valued at about $70,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Buckle in the third quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Buckle by 119.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

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.