Dollar Tree Lifts Outlook, Shares Jump

The discount store operator now expects earnings between $3.10 and $3.25 per share for the fiscal year ending Jan 2010, compared to the earlier prediction of $2.75 to $2.90.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the year is at $3.02 per share, which has moved up 5 cents over the past month as 10 of 12 covering analysts raised expectations.

Meanwhile, the company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of 63 cents per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by nearly 17%.

Sales grew 12% to $1.22 billion as customers preferred to shop more in its discount stores. Same-store sales recorded a growth of 6.8%.

DLTR, a Zacks #2 Rank ("Buy") stock, is trading on heavier-than-usual volume of about 3.6 million, against the average daily volume of approximately 1.1 million.

Read the full analyst report on DLTR