Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) gapped up prior to trading 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.

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 during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on DLTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Melius Research began coverage on Dollar Tree in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $128.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Dollar Tree

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DLTR. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 203.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in Dollar Tree by 119.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Dollar Tree by 29.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar Tree during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 198.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 281 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

Dollar Tree Trading Up 0.7 %

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 fifty day moving average price of $67.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.66. The company has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.92.

About Dollar Tree

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.