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Dollar General Corporation (DG) Soars to 52-Week High, Time to Cash Out?

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Have you been paying attention to shares of Dollar General (DG - Free Report) ? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 12% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $149.06 in the previous session. Dollar General has gained 12.1% since the start of the year compared to the 13.2% move for the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector and the 12.6% return for the Zacks Retail - Discount Stores industry.

What's Driving the Outperformance?

The stock has a great record of positive earnings surprises, having beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on December 4, 2025, Dollar General reported EPS of $1.28 versus consensus estimate of $0.92 while it beat the consensus revenue estimate by 0.33%.

For the current fiscal year, Dollar General is expected to post earnings of $6.47 per share on $42.56 in revenues. This represents a 9.29% change in EPS on a 4.79% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $7.07 per share on $44.29 in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 9.21% and 4.06%, respectively.

Valuation Metrics

While Dollar General has moved to its 52-week high over the past few weeks, investors need to be asking, what is next for the company? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company has run ahead of itself.

On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as they provide investors with an additional way to sort through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). These styles are represented by grades running from A to F in the categories of Value, Growth, and Momentum, while there is a combined VGM Score as well. The idea behind the style scores is to help investors pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.

Dollar General has a Value Score of B. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are B and B, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of A.

In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 23X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is not in-line with the peer industry average of 29.7X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 14.4X versus its peer group's average of 20X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 2.71. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.

Zacks Rank

We also need to look at the Zacks Rank for the stock, as this supersedes any trend on the style score front. Fortunately, Dollar General currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) thanks to a solid earnings estimate revision trend.

Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if Dollar General meets the list of requirements. Thus, it seems as though Dollar General shares could have potential in the weeks and months to come.


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