The Buckle, Inc. (BKE Quick QuoteBKE - Free Report) has been continuing with its sluggish comparable-store sales (comps) performance this year. Comps for the four-week period ended Oct 29, 2016, fell 15.5% year over year, continuing the declining trend – 15.5% in September, 14.8% in August, 10.9% in July, 10.6% in June, 11% in May, 13.2% in April, 11.8% in March, 8.9% in February and 11.3% in January.

The company generated net sales of $69.1 million in October, down 15.1% year over year. Notably, net sales decreased 14.8% in September, 14% in August, 9.8% in July, 10.1% in June, 10.4% in May, 12.3% in April, 11% in March, 7.7% in February and 10.1% in January.

Sales at the company’s Men's category tumbled 11% year over year. This category contributed nearly 45% to Buckle’s October sales. Sales in the Women’s category, which represented 55% of the company’s monthly sales, slumped 18.5% year over year. Buckle has not been able to turn the performance of its struggling Women’s business around.

On a combined basis, accessory sales, which constituted nearly 8% of the company’s October sales, dropped 20.5%, while footwear sales, which accounted for almost 7% of net sales, plummeted 22%.

Comps for the 13-week period ended Oct 29, 2016, declined 15.3%, while net sales over the period decreased 14.6% to $239.2 million from $280.2 million reported in the year-ago period. For the 39-week period ended, comps plunged 12.5%, while net sales over the same time frame fell 11.8% to $694.9 million from $787.6 million recorded in the year-ago period.

As of Nov 3, 2016, Buckle operated 470 retail stores across 44 states.

Apart from Buckle, L Brands, Inc. , Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST Quick QuoteCOST - Free Report) and Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ Quick QuoteZUMZ - Free Report) came out with their comparable sales results for the month of October registering an increase of 1%, 2% and 10.2%, respectively.

Buckle currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Confidential from Zacks

Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>>