Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter financial results before the markets open on Thursday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $0.87 in earnings per share (EPS) on $5.09 billion in revenue. In the same period of the previous year, the retailer posted EPS of $0.79 and $4.72 billion in revenue.
This company is one of the nation’s top discount retailers, carrying a huge inventory of items designed to appeal to a cost-conscious consumer. The company announced recently that it will accelerate new store openings next year, after losing a furious bidding war for Family Dollar to rival Dollar Tree. The discount retail giant plans to open 730 stores this year, representing a staggering 6% square footage growth, with another 875 stores to be relocated or remodeled. These aggressive expansion plans have been applauded by analysts on Wall Street.
Dollar General currently has 11,800 stores nationwide, so the planned increase it announced when it released earnings represents a huge 14% jump in the number of open stores in just two years. The company often focuses on smaller communities where a big-box store is a tougher proposition to make profitable.
Ahead of the earnings report, a few analysts weighed in on Dollar General:
- RBC Capital has an Outperform rating and lowered its price target to $82 from $88.
- BB&T upgraded it to a Buy rating from Hold with a $78 price target.
- Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to a Market Perform from Outperform.
- Piper Jaffray has an Overweight rating and lowered its price target to $75 from $82.
So far in 2015, Dollar General has underperformed the market, with the stock down 6.2% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is relatively flat.
Shares of Dollar General were trading at $65.42 Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $82.09 and a 52-week trading range of $59.75 to $81.42.
ALSO READ: Deutsche Bank Says 4 Retail Stocks Were Black Friday Winners
Want to Retire Early? Start Here (Sponsor)
Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?
Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.
Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.
Have questions about retirement or personal finance? Email us at [email protected]!
By emailing your questions to 24/7 Wall St., you agree to have them published anonymously on a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.
By submitting your story, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.