What happened
Shares of Dollar General (DG +0.48%) have climbed by as much as 5% today following analyst activity in the wake of the company's fourth-quarter earnings release yesterday morning. Analysts remain bullish, even though many of them reduced their price targets.
So what
Here's an overview of all the analyst activity from this morning:
- RBC: Reiterates outperform rating, reduces price target from $239 to $206.
- KeyBanc: Keeps overweight rating, drops price target from $235 to $220.
- Raymond James: Maintains strong buy rating, cuts price target from $250 to $220.
- Deutsche Bank: Keeps buy rating, adjusts price target from $241 to $226.
- Goldman Sachs: Reiterates buy rating, reduces price target from $238 to $210.
- J.P. Morgan: Maintains overweight rating, cuts price target from $252 to $224.
- UBS: Keeps buy rating, reduces price target from $245 to $235.
- Jefferies: Reiterates buy rating, drops price target from $260 to $250.
- Telsey Advisory: Maintains outperform rating, cuts price target from $245 to $215.
Image source: Dollar General.
Now what
Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe believes that Dollar General's lackluster guidance was merely the consumer staples company taking a conservative approach to its outlook, as the forecast did not factor in expected benefits from government stimulus. Raymond James analyst Bobby Griffin remains optimistic about Dollar General's long-term growth prospects, but noted that the price target reduction was related to the conservative outlook. RBC analyst Scot Ciccarelli argues that the 16% decline in comparable-store sales over a recent three-week period is misleading, and that the stock offers a compelling valuation for investors.
