Financial Review: Christopher & Banks (OTCMKTS:CBKCQ) versus Buckle (NYSE:BKE)

Christopher & Banks (OTCMKTS:CBKCQ) and Buckle (NYSE:BKE) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Christopher & Banks has a beta of -6.1, suggesting that its share price is 710% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Buckle has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Christopher & Banks and Buckle”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Christopher & Banks	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Buckle	$1.22 billion	2.24	$195.47 million	$4.08	13.10

Buckle has higher revenue and earnings than Christopher & Banks.

Profitability

This table compares Christopher & Banks and Buckle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Christopher & Banks	N/A	N/A	N/A
Buckle	16.13%	44.42%	20.62%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

53.9% of Buckle shares are held by institutional investors. 19.8% of Christopher & Banks shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 39.0% of Buckle shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Christopher & Banks and Buckle, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Christopher & Banks	0	0	0	0	0.00
Buckle	0	2	0	0	2.00

Buckle has a consensus target price of $55.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.94%. Given Buckle’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Buckle is more favorable than Christopher & Banks.

Summary

Buckle beats Christopher & Banks on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Christopher & Banks

Christopher & Banks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of private-brand women's apparel and accessories in the United States. The company designs and sells women's apparel and accessories to customers ranging in age from 50 and older. Its stores offer women's apparel consisting of casual clothing, everyday basics, wear-to-work, leisure/active wear, and sleepwear in missy, petite, and women sizes, as well as jewelry and accessories. It also operates christopherandbanks.com, an e-commerce website for its Christopher & Banks and CJ Banks brands. The company was formerly known as Braun's Fashions Corporation and changed its name to Christopher & Banks Corporation in July 2000. Christopher & Banks Corporation was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota. On April 13, 2021, the voluntary petition of Christopher & Banks Corporation for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 13, 2021.

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.