Buckle (NYSE:BKE) and DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) Head-To-Head Survey

DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) and Buckle (NYSE:BKE) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk and earnings.

Dividends

DICK’S Sporting Goods pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Buckle pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. DICK’S Sporting Goods pays out 53.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Buckle pays out 32.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. DICK’S Sporting Goods has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. DICK’S Sporting Goods is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares DICK’S Sporting Goods and Buckle”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DICK’S Sporting Goods	$21.15 billion	0.51	$849.24 million	$9.31	13.03
Buckle	$1.33 billion	1.56	$209.74 million	$4.34	9.29

DICK’S Sporting Goods has higher revenue and earnings than Buckle. Buckle is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than DICK’S Sporting Goods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for DICK’S Sporting Goods and Buckle, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DICK’S Sporting Goods	3	9	11	0	2.35
Buckle	0	2	0	0	2.00

DICK’S Sporting Goods presently has a consensus price target of $167.20, indicating a potential upside of 37.85%. Buckle has a consensus price target of $46.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.04%. Given DICK’S Sporting Goods’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe DICK’S Sporting Goods is more favorable than Buckle.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.8% of DICK’S Sporting Goods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.9% of Buckle shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.9% of DICK’S Sporting Goods shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 38.4% of Buckle shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares DICK’S Sporting Goods and Buckle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DICK’S Sporting Goods	3.97%	19.21%	6.07%
Buckle	16.62%	46.91%	20.97%

Volatility & Risk

DICK’S Sporting Goods has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Buckle has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

DICK’S Sporting Goods beats Buckle on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DICK’S Sporting Goods

DICK’s Sporting Goods, Inc. engages in the retailing of an extensive assortment of authentic sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. It also offers its products both online and through mobile applications. The company was founded by Richard T. Stack in 1948 and is headquartered in Coraopolis, PA.

About Buckle

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.