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

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The Buckle, Inc. (BKE - Free Report) 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. (ZUMZ - Free Report) 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. (FL - Free Report) 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, Inc. (SCVL - Free Report) delivered average positive earnings surprise of 31.4% in the trailing four quarters. It sports a Zacks Rank #1.

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