Short Interest in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Drops By 6.9%

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a drop of 6.9% from the February 29th total of 2,900,000 shares. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 483,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Buckle by 60,000.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Buckle by 2,840.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 941 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Buckle by 408.3% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Buckle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Buckle by 527.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th.

Buckle Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE:BKE traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.60. The stock had a trading volume of 73,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,287. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.28. Buckle has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $48.15.

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

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.75%.

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.