Vest Financial LLC Buys 13,920 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 40.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,051 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,920 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.09% of Buckle worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Buckle by 60.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Buckle by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,773 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Buckle in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Buckle by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKE has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Buckle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Buckle Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE BKE traded down $0.92 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.49. 645,241 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 472,573. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.14. The Buckle, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.87 and a fifty-two week high of $54.25. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $49.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.87.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.01). Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $293.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $2.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle's payout ratio is presently 35.53%.

Insider Activity at Buckle

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $1,050,670.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,760,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,420,806.19. This represents a 1.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $490,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 214,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,053,415.07. The trade was a 4.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,589 shares of company stock worth $4,869,767 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 39.80% of the company's stock.

Buckle 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.