Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $72.48, but opened at $76.02. Dollar Tree shares last traded at $74.59, with a volume of 1,888,603 shares changing hands.

The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. Dollar Tree had a negative net margin of 3.44% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. Dollar Tree’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DLTR. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $155.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $145.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $120.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.53.

Insider Activity at Dollar Tree

In other Dollar Tree news, Director Daniel J. Heinrich purchased 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.27 per share, with a total value of $150,194.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,823 shares in the company, valued at $670,616.21. This trade represents a 28.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar Tree

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar Tree by 41.3% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 659,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,393,000 after purchasing an additional 192,754 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar Tree by 374.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 95.9% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,525,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,264,000 after acquiring an additional 746,913 shares in the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar Tree during the 3rd quarter worth about $19,591,000. Finally, Anthracite Investment Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar Tree during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,813,000. 97.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar Tree Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of -15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.92.

Dollar Tree Company Profile

Dollar Tree, Inc operates retail discount stores. The company operates in two segments, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. The Dollar Tree segment offers merchandise at the fixed price of $ 1.25. It provides consumable merchandise, which includes everyday consumables, such as household paper and chemicals, food, candy, health, personal care products, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise comprising toys, durable housewares, gifts, stationery, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, arts and crafts supplies, and other items; and seasonal goods that include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day merchandise.