The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Somewhat overvalued. I think the earnings announcement coming out later this week will deflate this balloon a bit.

growth stock ?

seems to be valued fairly for its current earnings and book value. I like it because it's return on equity, profit margins, and growth are excellent.

Extraordinary returns on capital. ROC was 42% in most recent year (off the charts) and ROC has consistently grown just about every year from 12% a decade ago to 42% today. 5 yr avg ROC is 34-35%.

EPS has grown every single year for the past 10 years. Very few companies have been able to grow this consistently. FCF/EV = 9%. Also, a 1.77% dividend. Great management as well.

Looking at BKE's past growth history, I find it very unlikely that BKE will not continue to grow. Even if that future growth is at lower end of estimates and historical averages, I believe BKE should pan out to a solid long term investment.

And a BIG shout out to fool elcid16, who pointed out a glaring error that I made in my original BKE pitch, where I erroneously combined FCF yield and dividend yield. Thank you for correcting me. I am here to learn, and I appreciate the feedback.

Very cyclical stock

The Dividend plus growth potential...........and stellar management.

hot company in an average industry

Buckle is an outstanding yet underappreciated business that has done very well through recession and should do even better as the economy recovers. Owner Earnings have grown 18% per year for last 10 years with no slowdown in earnings in 08/09. ROE and ROIC have averaged 38 for the last 5 years. This was accomplished with no long term debt on the balance sheet. The business employs a conservative growth strategy using FCF rather than debt to fund growth.

While growth is outstanding on its own, an even bigger reason to own BKE is the dividend. The widely published dividend yield of 1.8% may not seem that inspiring. However, the company routinely pays a special dividend in the 4th quarter. A total of $4.50 per share in was paid in dividends in 2012 which gives the stock and outstanding 11.8% yield. With these kind of shareholder friendly payouts, it probably comes as no surprise that there is heavy insider ownership with the Chairman owning 34% of company.

In the current market, you would expect a company like this to have a PE in the 18-22 range. However, BKE currently sports a PE of less than 14. Using a reverse DCF analysis, this suggests that market is expecting no growth from this company. Given its track record, this is clearly silly. At current prices BKE offers a huge margin of safety. Collect the 11.8% yield while you wait for the market to catch on!

Financials appear solid, looks like it's gearing up for a major, aggressive expansion. Excellent margins. It's a bit of a gamble, but this is the kind of calculated risk a balanced portfolio should include -- the reward potential is inviting, and the company appears solid enough to weather the storms of growth.

High earnings predictabilty and growth persistence. strong finances, reasonable PE. Zero debt!

I agree with the good price point now, stable sales, and what really makes it a buy is the special dividend that has been payed out in the last few years. I also find this business to be at the upper level of retail right now, the sort that caters to people who will still have discretionary money through slow economic times.

As a 35 year old surgeon I shop here regularly, but only when I can get to one. I don't typically buy casual clothes elsewhere, and save my budget for trips to the in-laws house where there's a BKE in the mall. It definately has a broader target than the fickle teenage crowd, and a loyal base of fairly well-to-do patrons like me, in large part because the clothes are marketed and cut for tall athletic individuals who have few other off the shelf options.

Strong margins, well-paced growth, great leadership. Buckle is a steady grower and good earner.

I think given the low rating on all the facets risk, low valuation, excellent fundamentals, and low political risk makes this stock a buy in my opinion.

Buckle currently sports a 1.86% yield on regular dividends. Including the special dividend (which it has paid, in varying amounts, for the last 4 years), the trailing dividend yield is 7.1%.

Sales growth has averaged just under 15% the last five years, with EPS growth about 20% annualized. Growth has slowed a little lately, but still over 10%.

Between the dividends and the consistent growth, Buckle looks like a winner. With a payout ratio of 93%, they might have trouble sustaining both growth and dividends. However, they do not seem to be straining for cash -- management appears to be doing a great job in that department.

If management decides there are more opportunities for growth, they can always decide to reduce (or stop entirely) the special dividend. That would still leave the $.20 regular dividend at very reasonable price. Of course, they could suspend that too, but they have been paying a dividend since October 2003.

Reading others' comments, there seem to be those that think Buckle is a fad that will fade away and/or their merchandise is overpriced to the point of destroying demand. That might be entirely true. I am definitely not a fashion or consumer trend expert. And I am more than happy with paying much lower prices for clothing at Walmart.

However, whenever I go to my local mall, Buckle always seems to have their share of customers. They seem to have a relatively large range of age appeal too -- centered around younger adults, but including teens and more middle-aged people too. I think that helps them keep a more even keel as far as fads and trends go.

Also, just because they sell trendy clothing today does not mean they can't sell trendy clothing tomorrow, or five, ten, fifteen years from now. Buckle has been around for awhile (decades). I think they've seen one or two trend changes over that time, and it looks like they handled them just fine.

I can't say that I like the pants myself, but I like the fools analysis and the opinions on the street.

Pretty cheap plus a good dividend, if you include special dividends. Management owns a lot of shares. No debt.

The Buckle continuously delivers solid results and takes a conservative approach to expansion. Their focus on quality and trends have allowed them to stay competitive in a cutthroat market. Their special year end dividend is a great way to return additional value to shareholders.

constant growth over the years and adding new stores to BKE ( BUCKLE). Yes, i believe it saw the hard times in the economy and it excelled,so what it will do in a robust economy? . Probably very good.

I like this stock for a variety of reasons. I have history with the founder as well as the CEO. The CEO was my pledge dad in college and the founder would show me his computer operation back in the the mid-1970's (we both had an interest in software development.) It is a well run company and seems to be able to anticipate what it's target market wants well before they want it. It is currently overbought today, but when the price corrects enough, I'll be back in.