Buckle's (BKE) February Comps Down, Dismal Run Continues

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) continued with its dismal comparable store net sales (comps) performance for the seventh straight month in February. The company’s bearish run on the bourses is a reflection of the same.

In the past six months, shares of this Kearney, NE-based company have lost approximately 20% compared with the industry’s decline of roughly 23.2%. Moreover, since the announcement of February sales results on Mar 7, shares of this retailer of casual apparel, footwear and accessories have lost more than 3%.



Number Crunching

Coming to the monthly numbers, Buckle reported 6.8% decline in comparable store net sales (comps) for the four-week period ended Mar 2, after registering a decline of 2.2% in January 2019. In December, October, September and August of 2018, the company witnessed comps decline of 0.2%, 1%, 2.4% and 0.7%, respectively. Net sales were $59.4 million in February, down 7.2% year over year. This follows a decrease of 17.9% in January.

Sales at the company’s Men's category, which contributed nearly 51.5% to sales in February, were down 4% year over year for the four-week period ended Mar 2, 2019. Also, Buckle has not been able to revive the performance of the struggling Women’s business. Sales in the Women’s category, which represented 48.5% of the company’s monthly sales, declined roughly 10% during the aforementioned period.

On a combined basis, accessory sales, which constituted nearly 8.5% of the company’s February sales, decreased 7%. However, footwear sales, which accounted for almost 6.5% of net sales, increased 2%.

3 Stocks to Watch

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) delivered average positive earnings surprise of 13.3% in the trailing four quarters. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.5% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) delivered average positive earnings surprise of 8.8% in the trailing four quarters. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 9.2% and a Zacks Rank #1.

Shoe Carnival (NYSE:CCL), Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) delivered average positive earnings surprise of 31.4% in the trailing four quarters. It sports a Zacks Rank #1.

Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019

In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?

Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.

See Latest Stocks Today >>

Foot Locker, Inc. (FL): Free Stock Analysis Report

Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ): Free Stock Analysis Report

Buckle, Inc. (The) (BKE): Free Stock Analysis Report

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (SCVL): Free Stock Analysis Report

Original post