Buckle Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Buckle (NYSE: BKE  ) popped on a bellyful of good news this morning. Third-quarter earnings beat estimates by nearly a nickel, and same-store sales grew 5%. Best of all, Buckle promised to share its cash stash with shareholders, announcing a $2.50-per-share special dividend.

So what: Of course, that $2.50 belonged to shareholders to begin with, so I'm not sure it's really that big a deal. Once it pays out, the share price will likely drop by $2.50 in short order. So it's probably best if we just focus on the business.

Now what: Buckle joins a string of clothes sellers -- Target (NYSE: TGT  ) , Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) , and Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URBN  ) this week alone -- reporting strong earnings. Buckle's report looks especially healthy, though. Even as it grew sales more than 5% in Q3, the company managed to sell down its inventories to levels 6% below where they were last year.

That's gotta be good news for free cash flow, and it allows the company to enter the Christmas selling season in a position of strength. Lean inventories mean less need to offer discounts to move merchandise -- and promise plump profits in the quarter to come.

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