The Buckle, Inc. (BKE) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 on April 26th

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 raised its dividend payment 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $39.49 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 1.23. Buckle has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $48.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.11.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group lowered shares of Buckle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Buckle by 31.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 89,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 21,310 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Buckle by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 22,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 2.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 628,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,758,000 after purchasing an additional 17,592 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Buckle by 1.4% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 29,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Buckle by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.