Dollar General Corp (DG) stock surges 10.84% after raising sales guidance

Highlights 

• Dollar General Corporation’s (NYSE: DG) net sales increased 4.2% YoY to US$8.8 billion in the first quarter ended April 29, 2022. 
• The net income declined 18.5% YoY to US$552.7 million in the quarter. 
• The company expects net sales growth of around 10% to 10.5% and same-store sales growth of about 3% to 3.5% for fiscal 2022.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) on Thursday reported its quarterly earnings for the first quarter ended April 29, 2022. Its stock jumped 10.84% to US$216.52 at 10:53 am ET after announcing the better-than-expected results.

The company reported a 4.2% YoY increase in net sales to US$8.8 billion, boosted by contribution from new store sales, compared to US$8.4 billion for Q1, 2021.

At the same time, the same-store sales declined 0.1% compared to the first quarter of 2021 due to reduced customer traffic in product categories, including apparel and home products.

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Its operating profit declined 17.9% YoY to US$746.2 million compared to US$908.9 million in the same period a year ago. The net income also declined by 18.5% YoY to US$552.7 million for Q1, 2022, compared to US$677.7 million in the corresponding quarter of 2021. 

The earnings per share (EPS) diluted remained at US$2.41 compared to US$2.82 per share diluted in the first quarter of 2021, reflecting a 14.5% decrease YoY.

It reported a 13.3% increase in the total merchandise inventories to US$6.1 billion as of April 29, 2022, compared to US$5.1 billion as of April 30, 2021. 

 Dividend and share repurchase:

On May 25, 2022, its board of directors declared a cash dividend of US$0.55 per share payable on or before July 19, 2022, to shareholders of record on July 5, 2022. 

The company repurchased US$747 million of the common stock in Q1, 2022, at an average price of US$220.12 per share under the share repurchase program. 

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The fiscal Year 2022 Financial Guidance:

The company has increased its sales expectation for fiscal 2022. It expects net sales growth of around 10% to 10.5% and same-store sales growth of about 3% to 3.5% from the earlier expectation of 2.5% same-store sales growth. 

It continues to expect earnings per share diluted growth to be between 12% and 14% and capital expenditure related to its strategic initiatives to be between US$1.4 billion and US$1.5 billion. 

Further, it announced its plans to execute a total of 2,980 projects in the current fiscal. Out of which, 1,110 will be new store openings, 1,750 remodels, and 120 store relocations. 

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Dollar General:

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is a discount retailer. Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company operates roughly 18,000 stores in 47 states. It sells branded and private label products across various categories.

Its current market capitalization is US$51.22 million; the P/E ratio is 22.04, and the dividend yield is 1.12%.

DG stock traded in the range of US$262.20 to US$183.25 in the last 52 weeks.

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Bottom line:

Analysts expect some relief to the battered retail sector with the better-than-expected first-quarter results of Dollar General. Last week, Walmart Inc. (WMT) and Target Corporation (TGT) had declared mixed results. S&P Retail Select Index fell approximately 26.91% YTD and 29.46% annually, whereas DG stock plunged around 17.04% YTD and 2.32% in one year.