The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the September 30th total of 2,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 393,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days. Currently, 10.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Buckle news, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total transaction of $661,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 80,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,029.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $879,479.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,842,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,248,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total transaction of $661,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 80,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,029.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 138,718 shares of company stock valued at $5,819,174 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Buckle by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,311,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,638,000 after purchasing an additional 24,051 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Buckle in the first quarter valued at $3,073,000. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in Buckle during the first quarter valued at about $804,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Buckle during the first quarter valued at about $856,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Buckle by 67.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 110,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,465,000 after acquiring an additional 44,850 shares during the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BKE. StockNews.com downgraded Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Buckle from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th.

Buckle Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BKE traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.53. The company had a trading volume of 92,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,436. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.13. Buckle has a twelve month low of $32.16 and a twelve month high of $48.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.84.

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

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

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.