Buckle Up on Earnings

Buckle BKE is up on Thursday after topping analysts' estimates on the earnings front. The Kearney, Nebraska firm finished the fourth quarter with an EPS of $1.28. This topped the company's Q4 2011 performance by 8.5 percent and edged the Wall Street consensus of $1.25. Revenue grew seven percent year-over-year and finished at $360.6 million in the fourth quarter. This also topped the Wall Street consensus, which was around $356.6 million. Full-year EPS finished at $3.44, beating analysts' expectations $3.41. Total revenue closed up 5.7 percent for the year at $1.12 billion. Full-year revenue was on par with analysts' estimates. Online Sales Growth Online sales grew 5.4 percent during the fourth quarter. For the year, such sales rose by over eight percent. Ho-Hum Comparable Store Sales Comparable store sales were flat in the fourth quarter. For the year, this figure climbed around two percent. Clothing Sales on the Rise According to data released Wednesday by the US Department of Commerce, clothing and clothing accessories stores saw a 0.2 percent gain in February versus the previous month. Year-over-year, this figure grew over three percent. From December 2012 through February 2013, sales increased 1.6 percent versus the previous three months. Compared to December 2011 through February 2012, this figure rose 4.6 percent. Gap in Trouble? Buckle's top competitor - Gap GPS - lost two executives in January to children's wear firm Gymboree. On January 8, San Francisco-based Gymboree announced the appointment of Mark Breitbard as its CEO. The company plucked Breitbard from Gap, where he served as President of Gap North America. Two days later, Reuters reported Gymboree named Evan Price its CFO. Price had spent just a month as Gap North America's VP of Finance. Prior to that, he was Old Navy North America's VP for about five months, as Reuters mentioned. Then, on March 11, Wall St. Cheat Sheet reported that Gap CEO Murphy Glenn sold 162,965 shares. Logic dictates to sell a stock at its highest point, suggesting the company's highest-ranking officer believes it may go down in the future. Three Month High Buckle has hovered in the $40s on most days since mid-August of 2012. It continues to do so on Thursday and is trading near the $48 mark. The stock is at its highest point since eclipsing $50 on December 4. Buckle is up over one percent on Thursday.