The Buckle, Inc. Same Store Sales Grow 1.8% in March, Stock Rises by 0% (NYSE:BKE)

Buckle’s (NYSE:BKE) same store sales rose 1.8% during the month of March. Buckle’s stock rose by 0% in the first day of trading following the report.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group downgraded Buckle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th.

Buckle Stock Performance

NYSE BKE opened at $36.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.04 and its 200 day moving average is $38.67. Buckle has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $48.15.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 15th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $382.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.63 million. Buckle had a return on equity of 50.88% and a net margin of 17.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Buckle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKE. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in Buckle by 192.6% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 111,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,287,000 after acquiring an additional 73,232 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Buckle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,891,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,148,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,591,000 after purchasing an additional 288,056 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Buckle by 11.9% during the third quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 150,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,022,000 after purchasing an additional 16,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Buckle during the third quarter worth $597,000. 53.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B.