Dollar Tree Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 98,897 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 75% compared to the average volume of 56,532 put options.

Dollar Tree Trading Up 3.8 %

Dollar Tree stock traded up $2.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,664,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,433,423. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.97, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.92. Dollar Tree has a 12-month low of $60.49 and a 12-month high of $151.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $68.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.00.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.05. Dollar Tree had a positive return on equity of 16.89% and a negative net margin of 3.34%. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Dollar Tree will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on DLTR. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Dollar Tree from $128.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Dollar Tree in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Dollar Tree to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Dollar Tree from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Dollar Tree from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar Tree

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DLTR. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Dollar Tree by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,427,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,971,000 after purchasing an additional 596,191 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Dollar Tree by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,939,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,987,000 after acquiring an additional 35,862 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Dollar Tree by 5.5% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,030,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,129,000 after purchasing an additional 158,385 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Dollar Tree by 5.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,492,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,124,000 after purchasing an additional 138,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dollar Tree by 6.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,003,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,958,000 after purchasing an additional 124,021 shares during the period. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.