Dollar General Corporation DG, one of the largest discount retailers, came out with first-quarter fiscal 2017 results, wherein adjusted earnings of $1.03 a share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 99 cents, while it came in line with the year-ago period.
Earnings Estimate Revision: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2017 has been stable in the last 30 days. However, in the trailing four quarters, excluding the quarter under review, the company outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 2.8%.
Dollar General Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Dollar General Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | Dollar General Corporation Quote
Revenues: Dollar General generated net sales of $5,609.6 million that jumped 6.5% year over year and also came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,598 million. The year-over-year improvement was driven by sales from net new store openings. Same store sales rose 0.7% for the quarter.
Key Events: The company bought back 1.3 million shares in the first quarter. Since the commencement of the share repurchase program in Dec 2011, the company has bought back 75.6 million shares aggregating $4.7 billion. At the end of the first quarter, the company has an outstanding authorization of nearly $845 million. Further, management announced a quarterly dividend of 26 cents per share that will be payable on Jul 25, 2017 to shareholders of record as on Jul 11.
Additionally, the company revealed that the FTC approved its plan to buy 322 stores across 36 states, from a small multi-price point retailer. While the deal is expected to conclude in Jun 2017, the new store sites are expected to be converted into Dollar General’s banner by Nov 2017 end. This transaction is likely to impact fiscal 2017 results.
Outlook: Including the impact from the aforementioned buyout, management now anticipates net sales to rise in the band of 5-7%, compared with the previous forecast of 4–6% increase. Same-store sales growth is still anticipated in the band of slightly positive to 2% for fiscal 2017. Further, GAAP earnings outlook was reiterated in the band of $4.25 to $4.50 per share.
Moreover, the company expects to buyback nearly $450 million in fiscal 2017, and intends to introduce roughly 1,290 new outlets, relocate or remodel 760 stores and shutter down 140 stores.
Zacks Rank: Currently, Dollar General has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) which is subject to change following the earnings announcement.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Stock Movement: Dollar General’s shares are up nearly 4.9% during pre-market trading hours following the earnings release.
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