What Happened?
Shares of discount retailer Dollar General (NYSE: DG) jumped 3.6% in the morning session after the company reported strong third-quarter results that beat expectations and raised its full-year financial outlook. The company’s net sales increased by 4.6% to $10.6 billion, while its earnings per share jumped by almost 44% to $1.28. This performance was better than analysts had predicted. Following these strong results, Dollar General lifted its forecast for the full year, now expecting net sales to grow between 4.7% and 4.9%. The earnings beat was aided by lower inventory losses and higher markups. The positive news prompted analysts at firms like Telsey Advisory Group and Truist Securities to raise their price targets on the stock. This gain continued the momentum from the previous trading day when the stock soared after the initial announcement.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Dollar General’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 8 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 24 days ago when the stock gained 3.4% on the news that positive analyst commentary, including a price target increase from JPMorgan. This sentiment was supported by a broader consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the analysts covering the stock. Specifically, JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss raised Dollar General's price target to $115. Investors also took note of the company's internal initiatives, such as Project Elevate and Project Renovate, which were viewed as improving store productivity. These efforts, combined with a resilient customer base and an expanding number of stores, positioned the company well for future sales growth.
Dollar General is up 74.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $131.96 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Dollar General’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $618.48.
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