Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,050,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the October 15th total of 11,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DLTR. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised Dollar Tree to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Dollar Tree from $120.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Dollar Tree from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.95.

Dollar Tree Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of DLTR traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.87. 3,210,030 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,399,205. Dollar Tree has a 1-year low of $60.49 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.62.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts expect that Dollar Tree will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel J. Heinrich bought 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.27 per share, for a total transaction of $150,194.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,616.21. This trade represents a 28.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar Tree

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DLTR. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar Tree by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Dollar Tree by 29.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Dollar Tree by 2.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Dollar Tree by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its position in Dollar Tree by 1.4% in the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.