Buckle's (BKE) Sales Run Continues in January, Comps Gain 4.2%

The Buckle (NYSE:BKE), Inc. BKE looks well poised on the back of its robust strategic efforts, including strength in e-commerce business and an impressive sales trend. BKE has been putting up a stellar show for quite sometime now, which continued in January 2022. BKE has been experiencing a robust sales and comparable store net sales (comps) run for the past few months.

Solid gains from Buckle’s women’s and men’s merchandise categories have been contributing to this upbeat sales performance for a while. Buckle is steadily benefiting from its product assortments and youth business. Shares of this currently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 4.6% in the past year against the industry’s 34.2% decline.

Let’s get into the numerical details.

Sales Data

Buckle’s net sales for the four-week fiscal month ended Jan 29, 2022 grew 2.9% to $64.9 million from $63.1 million recorded in the four-week fiscal month ended Jan 30, 2021. This apparel, footwear and accessories retailer registered a sales increase of 17.3%, 35.9%, 23.6% and 17.3%, respectively, in the preceding four months.

For the fiscal month under review, comparable store net sales for stores open at least for a year rose 4.2% year over year. The metric jumped 17.7%, 36%, 23.3% and 17.8%, respectively, in the prior four months.

For the four-week fiscal month ended Jan 29, 2022, total sales at the men’s unit increased 6.5% from the figure recorded in the four-week period ended Jan 30, 2021 while the metric at the women’s business inched up 1%. The men’s category contributed 49% to BKE’s overall monthly sales while the women’s unit accounted for 51%.

On combining the men’s and women’s categories, accessory sales for the fiscal month climbed 15.5% while footwear sales decreased 19.5% from the figure registered in the comparable January of fiscal 2021. The accessory and footwear categories accounted for 8.5% and 8%, respectively, of the overall fiscal January 2021 sales. For the comparable period in fiscal 2021, these categories constituted 7.5% and 10.5%, respectively.

For the 13-week fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan 29, 2022, net sales jumped 19.5% year over year to $380.9 million from net sales of $318.8 million generated in the prior-year fiscal quarter ended Jan 30, 2021. Also, comparable store net sales increased 20% year over year during the 13-week period ended Jan 29, 2022.

For the 52-week fiscal year ended Jan 29, 2022, net sales surged 43.6% year over year to $1.295 billion from net sales of $901.3 million generated in the prior fiscal year. Comparable store net sales increased 43.8% year over year during the 52-week period ended Jan 29, 2022.

This Kearney, NE-based Buckle currently operates 439 retail outlets across 42 states. BKE operated 442 stores in 42 states as of Feb 3, 2021.

Key Picks in Retail

Here are three better-ranked stocks, namely Capri Holdings (NYSE:CPRI) CPRI, Tapestry (NYSE:TPR) TPR and Costco COST.

Capri Holdings, a renowned accessories and footwear company, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CPRI has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1,018.2%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Capri Holdings’ current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 36.3% and 205.8%, respectively, from the corresponding year-ago period’s reported figures. CPRI has an expected EPS growth rate of 30.9% for three-five years.

Tapestry, which provides luxury accessories and branded lifestyle products, carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. TPR has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tapestry’s current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 15% and 18.5%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s actuals. TPR has an expected EPS growth rate of 12.3% for three-five years.

Costco, which operates membership warehouses, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. COST has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.3%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 11.6% and 14.3%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s corresponding readings. COST has an expected EPS growth rate of 8.8% for three-five years.

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