Comparing Buckle (BKE) and Its Peers

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) is one of 285 public companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Buckle to similar companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

53.9% of Buckle shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.9% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by institutional investors. 38.4% of Buckle shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Buckle and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Buckle	16.62%	46.91%	20.97%
Buckle Competitors	-3.69%	-14.02%	3.17%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Buckle and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Buckle	$1.30 billion	$209.74 million	10.09
Buckle Competitors	$7.05 billion	$386.47 million	30.98

Buckle’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Buckle. Buckle is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Buckle and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Buckle	0	2	0	0	2.00
Buckle Competitors	3676	15602	21627	590	2.46

Buckle currently has a consensus target price of $46.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.06%. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 6.47%. Given Buckle’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Buckle has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Dividends

Buckle pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Buckle pays out 32.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.1% and pay out 35.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Buckle is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Buckle has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Buckle’s competitors have a beta of 1.91, meaning that their average stock price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Buckle competitors beat Buckle on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Buckle Company Profile

The Buckle, Inc. operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the United States. It markets a selection of brand name casual apparel, including denims, other casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, outerwear, accessories, and footwear, as well as private label merchandise primarily comprising BKE, Buckle Black, Salvage, Red by BKE, Daytrip, Gimmicks, Gilded Intent, FITZ + EDDI, Willow & Root, Outpost Makers, Departwest, Sterling & Stitch, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B. Holt, Modish Rebel, Maven Co-op, and Veece. The company provides services, such as hemming, gift-packaging, layaways, guest loyalty program, the Buckle private label credit card, and personalized stylist services, as well as special order system that allows stores to obtain requested merchandise from other company stores or its online order fulfillment center. The Buckle, Inc. also sells its products through its website, buckle.com. The company was formerly known as Mills Clothing, Inc. and changed its name to The Buckle, Inc. in April 1991.The Buckle, Inc. was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska.