This clothing retail stock is up 188% year-over-year
The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) is an American fashion retailer. The company sells clothing, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children. They currently operate 442 stores in 42 states throughout the U.S. This morning, BKE was last seen up 0.3% at $42.20. BKE has surged more than 188% year-over-year, a major improvement from its back May 2020 bottom of $12.83. Shares of Buckle stock are also up 36% year-to-date.
Buckle is slated to release earnings before the open on Friday, May 21. The retail brand has outperformed Wall Street estimates on three out of its last four earnings reports. For the first quarter of 2020, Buckle swung and missed analyst estimates by a margin of $0.27, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of -$0.24. For the second quarter of 2020, Buckle's EPS increased to $0.71, and exceeded expectations by a margin of $0.66. For the third quarter of 2020, BKE reported another increase in earnings, rising to $0.85 per share and beating estimates by a margin of $0.31. For the fourth quarter of 2020, Buckle reported an EPS of $1.33 and beat expectations by a margin of $0.07.
BKE has all the makings of a strong dividend stock. The company offers a $1.32 forward dividend, which is equivalent to a dividend yield of 3.14%. In addition, Buckle stock trades at a price-earnings ratio of 15.82, making Buckle stock a strong potential value play as well. Overall, Buckle stock is likely best suited for dividend investors with a long-term outlook.
Lastly, it's worth noting Buckle stock has seen a surge in short interest, up 6.5% during the past two reporting periods. This accounts for a notable 16.2% of the stock's total available float, and would take over two weeks for short sellers to buy back their bearish bets.