StockNews.com Downgrades Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) to Sell

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on DLTR. Melius Research started coverage on Dollar Tree in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Dollar Tree from $145.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Dollar Tree from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Dollar Tree from $155.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.95.

Dollar Tree Price Performance

Shares of Dollar Tree stock opened at $65.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.81 and a 200 day moving average of $90.85. Dollar Tree has a 12 month low of $60.49 and a 12 month high of $151.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of -13.47, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.49 billion. Dollar Tree had a positive return on equity of 15.77% and a negative net margin of 3.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Dollar Tree will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Dollar Tree

In related news, Director Daniel J. Heinrich acquired 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.27 per share, for a total transaction of $150,194.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,616.21. The trade was a 28.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar Tree

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Dollar Tree by 49.8% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 2,294 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Dollar Tree in the 1st quarter worth approximately $422,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree by 319.9% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 8,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 6,827 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Dollar Tree by 21.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Dollar Tree during the first quarter worth approximately $296,000. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Dollar Tree

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.