Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $67.55, but opened at $70.12. Dollar Tree shares last traded at $71.44, with a volume of 1,122,525 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Dollar Tree in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Dollar Tree from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Dollar Tree from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Dollar Tree from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.50.

Dollar Tree Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.27, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.87.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The company reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.09). Dollar Tree had a negative net margin of 3.34% and a positive return on equity of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William W. Douglas III bought 701 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $75.00 per share, with a total value of $52,575.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,275. This trade represents a 103.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dollar Tree

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,450,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,757,360,000 after purchasing an additional 163,368 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Dollar Tree by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,920,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,461,000 after acquiring an additional 533,920 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Dollar Tree by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,427,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,971,000 after purchasing an additional 596,191 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Dollar Tree by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,753,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dollar Tree by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 7,940,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,637 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

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.