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Buckle's (BKE) Q1 Earnings Beat Zacks Consensus, Stock Up
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Investors of The Buckle, Inc. (BKE - Free Report) breathed a sigh of relief after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for the first time in five quarters, when it came up with first-quarter fiscal 2017 results. Further, the company shares which have been struggling to find a safe haven in the past six months witnessed a gain of nearly 4% following the results. Now the question arises will the stock be able to defy the Zacks categorized Retail-Apparel/Shoe industry trend, which has witnessed a sharp decline of 25.4%.
The company reported earnings per share of 34 cents that surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents but declined 29.2% year over year. The company’s net sales of $212 million were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but declined 12.8% year over year.
Women’s merchandise sales slumped nearly 16% in the quarter, while Men’s merchandise sales dropped 11%. Women’s merchandise contributed 53% to total sales, while the Men’s business input was pegged at 47%.
Combined accessory sales fell nearly 13%, while footwear sales declined 16%. These two categories contributed nearly 8.5% and 6.5% to fourth-quarter net sales, respectively.
Comparable-store sales dropped 12.7% from the prior-year quarter. Moreover, online sales (not included in comparable-store sales) declined 7.2% year over year to $21.8 million.
We observe that Buckle’s, net sales decreased 3.9%, 10.1%, 23.3%, in April, March and February, respectively. Meanwhile, comparable sales declined 3.5%, 10.1% and 23.2% in April, March and February, respectively.
Buckle’s gross profit declined 13.7% to $81.7 million, while gross margin contracted nearly 40 basis points (bps) to 38.5%. The contraction can be attributed to de-leveraged occupancy, buying and distribution expenditures due to the decline in comparable-store sales. The drop in comparable sales impacted gross margin by 300 bps. Further, operating margin was at 11.8% compared with 15% in the prior-year quarter.
Buckle, Inc. (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Buckle ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $207.9 million, receivables of $8.5 million and shareholders’ equity of $436.3 million. Moreover, the company had accounts payable of $32.4 million. In the quarter under review, it incurred capital expenditures of $3.9 million. In fiscal 2017, the company anticipates capital expenditure to be in the range of $25–$30 million.
As of Apr 29, 2017, Buckle operated 462 retail stores across 44 states. During the quarter, the company did not open any store but closed five stores.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Buckle currently carries a Zacks rank #2 (Buy). Other top ranked stocks in the retail sector include The Children's Place, Inc. (PLCE - Free Report) , Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL - Free Report) and Nutrisystem, Inc. . The Children's Place and Nutrisystem sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Burlington Stores carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Children's Place delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 39% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8%.
Nutrisystem delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 17.5% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 18.3%.
Burlington Stores delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 26.3% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15.9%.
Zacks' Hidden Trades
While we share many recommendations and ideas with the public, certain moves are hidden from everyone but selected members of our portfolio services. Would you like to peek behind the curtain today and view them?
Starting now, for the next month, I invite you to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum...from stocks under $10 to ETF to option movers...from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors.
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Buckle's (BKE) Q1 Earnings Beat Zacks Consensus, Stock Up
Investors of The Buckle, Inc. (BKE - Free Report) breathed a sigh of relief after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for the first time in five quarters, when it came up with first-quarter fiscal 2017 results. Further, the company shares which have been struggling to find a safe haven in the past six months witnessed a gain of nearly 4% following the results. Now the question arises will the stock be able to defy the Zacks categorized Retail-Apparel/Shoe industry trend, which has witnessed a sharp decline of 25.4%.
The company reported earnings per share of 34 cents that surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents but declined 29.2% year over year. The company’s net sales of $212 million were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but declined 12.8% year over year.
Women’s merchandise sales slumped nearly 16% in the quarter, while Men’s merchandise sales dropped 11%. Women’s merchandise contributed 53% to total sales, while the Men’s business input was pegged at 47%.
Combined accessory sales fell nearly 13%, while footwear sales declined 16%. These two categories contributed nearly 8.5% and 6.5% to fourth-quarter net sales, respectively.
Comparable-store sales dropped 12.7% from the prior-year quarter. Moreover, online sales (not included in comparable-store sales) declined 7.2% year over year to $21.8 million.
We observe that Buckle’s, net sales decreased 3.9%, 10.1%, 23.3%, in April, March and February, respectively. Meanwhile, comparable sales declined 3.5%, 10.1% and 23.2% in April, March and February, respectively.
Buckle’s gross profit declined 13.7% to $81.7 million, while gross margin contracted nearly 40 basis points (bps) to 38.5%. The contraction can be attributed to de-leveraged occupancy, buying and distribution expenditures due to the decline in comparable-store sales. The drop in comparable sales impacted gross margin by 300 bps. Further, operating margin was at 11.8% compared with 15% in the prior-year quarter.
Buckle, Inc. (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Buckle, Inc. (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Buckle, Inc. (The) Quote
Other Financial Aspects
Buckle ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $207.9 million, receivables of $8.5 million and shareholders’ equity of $436.3 million. Moreover, the company had accounts payable of $32.4 million. In the quarter under review, it incurred capital expenditures of $3.9 million. In fiscal 2017, the company anticipates capital expenditure to be in the range of $25–$30 million.
As of Apr 29, 2017, Buckle operated 462 retail stores across 44 states. During the quarter, the company did not open any store but closed five stores.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Buckle currently carries a Zacks rank #2 (Buy). Other top ranked stocks in the retail sector include The Children's Place, Inc. (PLCE - Free Report) , Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL - Free Report) and Nutrisystem, Inc. . The Children's Place and Nutrisystem sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Burlington Stores carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Children's Place delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 39% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8%.
Nutrisystem delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 17.5% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 18.3%.
Burlington Stores delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 26.3% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15.9%.
Zacks' Hidden Trades
While we share many recommendations and ideas with the public, certain moves are hidden from everyone but selected members of our portfolio services. Would you like to peek behind the curtain today and view them?
Starting now, for the next month, I invite you to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum...from stocks under $10 to ETF to option movers...from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors.
Click here for Zacks' secret trade>>