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

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the September 30th total of 2,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 393,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days. Approximately 10.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,842,999 shares in the company, valued at $79,248,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $879,479.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,842,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,248,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 15,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.80, for a total transaction of $579,852.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,950,377 shares in the company, valued at $73,724,250.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 138,718 shares of company stock worth $5,819,174. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Buckle by 0.6% in 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. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Buckle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,073,000. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in Buckle in the first quarter valued at $804,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Buckle during the 1st quarter worth about $856,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Buckle by 67.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 110,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,465,000 after acquiring an additional 44,850 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.93% of the company's stock.

Buckle Stock Performance

BKE stock traded down $0.38 on Friday, hitting $42.18. 329,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,580. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.88. Buckle has a 12-month low of $32.16 and a 12-month high of $48.15. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.13.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.78 EPS 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.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Buckle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKE. UBS Group decreased their target price on Buckle from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com lowered Buckle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

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.