Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Dollar Tree, Inc. has received a consensus "Hold" rating from 21 research firms, with an average target price of $97.74 for the stock.
• The company announced a $2.5 billion stock buyback plan, suggesting that its board believes the stock is undervalued.
• Dollar Tree reported earnings of $1.26 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue rising 11.3% year-over-year.

Shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.7368.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $111.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Dollar Tree in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Dollar Tree in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Dollar Tree from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Dollar Tree from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Richard L. Mcneely sold 21,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.62, for a total value of $1,989,480.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 50,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,770,645.78. This represents a 29.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dollar Tree

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Dollar Tree by 164.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 264 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 34,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 79.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 358 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar Tree by 372.5% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 378 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Dollar Tree during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 97.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar Tree Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Dollar Tree stock opened at $117.16 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.57. Dollar Tree has a 12-month low of $60.49 and a 12-month high of $117.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a PE ratio of -8.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.88.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.52 billion. Dollar Tree had a positive return on equity of 19.36% and a negative net margin of 12.15%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Dollar Tree will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar Tree declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 9th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 11.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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