Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $77.57, but opened at $68.55. Dollar Tree shares last traded at $69.91, with a volume of 3,208,722 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Dollar Tree from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial set a $84.00 price target on shares of Dollar Tree in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Dollar Tree Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.36. The company has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a PE ratio of -14.16, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.23 billion. Dollar Tree had a negative net margin of 3.34% and a positive return on equity of 16.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Dollar Tree, Inc. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William W. Douglas III purchased 701 shares of Dollar Tree stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.00 per share, with a total value of $52,575.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,275. This trade represents a 103.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar Tree

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in Dollar Tree by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 907 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Dollar Tree by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Dollar Tree by 91.3% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar Tree by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.