Townsquare Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Dollar Tree, Inc. by 29.5%, adding 5,230 shares for a total of 22,982 shares valued at approximately $1.725 million.
• Dollar Tree's Board of Directors has initiated a $2.5 billion share buyback program, which could allow the company to repurchase up to 11.5% of its shares, signaling confidence in the stock's value.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.26, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.21, contributing to a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.3% to $4.64 billion.

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR - Free Report) by 29.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,982 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,230 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Dollar Tree were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Dollar Tree by 34,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Dollar Tree during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar Tree during the first quarter worth about $48,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar Tree during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Dollar Tree by 121.4% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 974 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.40% of the company's stock.

Dollar Tree Stock Performance

DLTR traded down $0.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $114.63. 3,658,557 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,137,621. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.27, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. Dollar Tree, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.49 and a 1-year high of $118.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 4th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.05. Dollar Tree had a positive return on equity of 19.36% and a negative net margin of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar Tree announced that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 11.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar Tree

In related news, CMO Richard L. Mcneely sold 21,026 shares of Dollar Tree stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.62, for a total value of $1,989,480.12. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 50,419 shares in the company, valued at $4,770,645.78. The trade was a 29.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DLTR. UBS Group increased their price objective on Dollar Tree from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Dollar Tree from $111.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $82.00 price objective on Dollar Tree and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Dollar Tree from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cfra Research raised Dollar Tree to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.89.

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.