Dollar General shares gain the most in two weeks on Thursday, third-quarter comparable sales beat, full-year profit forecast revised up

Dollar General Corp (DG) reported on Thursday its largest quarterly growth in comparable sales in almost five years. The company also revised up its full-year adjusted earnings forecast.

Dollar General shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Thursday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since November 20th. The stock went up 1.01% ($1.55) to $155.10, after touching an intraday high at $155.97, or a price level not seen since December 2nd ($158.43).

Shares of Dollar General Corp have risen 43.50% so far in 2019 compared with a 24.36% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Dollar General Corp’s stock went up 16.20%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

Dollar General’s net sales went up 8.9% year-on-year to $6.99 billion during the third quarter ended on November 1st, while outstripping the median analyst estimate of $6.92 billion.

Comparable sales were reported to have risen 4.6% year-on-year during the quarter, while exceeding market consensus of 3.34% growth.

The discount store operator now projects full-year comparable sales growth in the mid-to-high 3% range, after previously forecasting growth in the low-to-mid 3% range.

Meanwhile, net income attributable to shareholders went up to $365.6 million ($1.42 per share) during the fiscal third quarter from $334.1 million ($1.26 per share) in the year-ago period. The median forecast by analysts had pointed to earnings of $1.38 per share.

Dollar General also revised up its adjusted earnings forecast for fiscal year 2019 to a range of $6.55 to $6.65 per share from a previously expected range of $6.45 to $6.60 per share.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 25 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Dollar General Corp’s stock price, have a median target of $175.00, with a high estimate of $190.00 and a low estimate of $145.00. The median estimate represents a 12.83% upside compared to the closing price of $155.10 on December 5th.

The same media also reported that at least 18 out of 28 surveyed investment analysts had rated Dollar General Corp’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.