For the second year in a row, Buckle is belting out a big special dividend. Monday, the Nebraska-based retailer of medium-to-higher-priced apparel for young men and women declared a bonus payout of $1.80 a share, which translates into a distribution worth some $84 million. The special will be paid with the current quarterly common dividend of 20 cents a share on Oct. 27 to stockholders of record Oct. 15. The ex-date is Oct. 13. Yield: 2.47%. Factoring in the bonus payout, Buckle (BKE) yields 8%. The company paid its first dividend in 2003 (an adjusted four cents a share) and has been enhancing disbursements every year since. Directors decided on a special dividend rather than a big boost in the quarterly to avoid disappointing investors with a cut if business worsens. Last year's special payout was $2 a share, adjusted for a 3-for-2 stock split. Prior to that, Buckle paid a special of an adjusted $1.33 in January 2007. Robert Willens, whose online Willens Report surveys the latest developments in taxation and accounting, says Buckle's entire distribution probably will be treated as a dividend because the company has more than enough retained earnings (about $6 a share) to cover it. So the payout will be taxed at just 15% if investors hold the stock for more than 60 days of the 121-day period that begins 60 days before the ex-date. They cannot hedge their positions except by writing call options against them. Willens also says that the dividend can easily be stripped. That allows short-term capital gains, taxed at 35%, to be converted into qualified dividend income, taxed at 15%. Though large, Buckle's payout isn't big enough to be considered extraordinary. It is likely to be less than 10% of the value of the stock on the day before the ex-date. Once the holding-period requirements are met, the stock can be sold for a loss that reflects the amount of the dividend. This short-term capital loss can be used to offset short-term capital gains the seller has realized on other trades. Willens thinks this strategy will be used more frequently as the clock ticks down on former President Bush's tax advantages for dividend income.

I like The Buckle (BKE), says Joe Terranova. And I’m bullish on Amazon (AMZN).

Buy between 25 to 30

On Aug. 3's "Lightning Round" segment, Cramer called Buckle the "strongest retailer in the show" and said he'd buy it at current prices. "That's a superior retailer," he said.

The Buckle (BKE) is up 60% already this year, explains Joe Terranova. On a pull back I’d buy this stock. They’re doing something right!

Neutral - Price 31.37 on April 1
by Sterne, Agee & Leach

[Our] 37 target on this retailer is based on 11 times our FY10 adjusted EPS estimate plus a projected $8 in cash next year. We believe that BKE continues to comp well, despite the Easter shift (from March in '08 to April in '09), and think the recent First Call consensus estimate of 13.5% for March comps (versus 20.9% last year) is reasonable. We note very difficult upcoming comparisons, especially in April/May against 34% and 34.7%, respectively. Market cap: $1.5 billion.

Joe Terranova liked Green Mountain Coffee Roasters(GMCR) and Buckle(BKE).

Also he’s also watching Chipotle [CMG] as well as Aeropostale [ARO] and The Buckle [BKE] in the retail space – all because they have a large amount of short interest.

If you want to play retail from the long side you have to pick and choose. Tunick likes stores with a fashion trend tailwind such as The Buckle [BKE], Hot Topic [HOTT], Ulta Salon and Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA).

PE of 17, a PEG of 1.14, and it pays a yield of 2.3%.

Even when the stock did what I needed it to do the option pricing didn't follow suit, there aren't enough people trading BKE options.