Buckle (NYSE:BKE) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Separately, UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Buckle Price Performance

Buckle stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $47.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 372,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,246. Buckle has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $49.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.63. The company has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total value of $877,433.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,822,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,187,223.40. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 80,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,029.50. This represents 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 worth $6,080,458 in the last three months. 39.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,311,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,638,000 after acquiring an additional 24,051 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in Buckle during the first quarter worth $804,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in Buckle during the first quarter worth $856,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Buckle by 15.7% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 125,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,631,000 after buying an additional 17,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Buckle by 14.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 716,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,452,000 after buying an additional 87,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

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.