The Buckle, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 (NYSE:BKE)

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share on Friday, April 26th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th.

Buckle has increased its dividend by an average of 15.9% annually over the last three years. Buckle has a payout ratio of 34.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Buckle Price Performance

NYSE BKE opened at $39.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 1.23. Buckle has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $48.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.60 and its 200 day moving average is $38.11.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 15th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.15. The company 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%. Buckle’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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on BKE shares. UBS Group cut Buckle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com cut Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Buckle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Buckle by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Buckle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Buckle by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Buckle by 241.5% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Buckle by 41.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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