Dollar General (DG) shares closed at $136.68, up 2.19 percent, trailing the S&P 500's 2.35 percent gain.
The discount retailer has risen 5.12 percent over the past month, outpacing the S&P 500's 5.6 percent loss but lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's 6.78 percent advance.
For Q3, due Dec. 3, consensus estimates call for EPS of $1.40, representing 9.38 percent growth year-over-year. Revenue is projected at $11.13 billion, up 4.53 percent from the prior-year quarter.
For the full fiscal year, analysts expect EPS of $7.94, up 15.91 percent year-over-year, with total revenue at $44.55 billion, up 5.77 percent.
The consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08 percent higher in the past month. Zacks ranks DG #2 (Buy), citing recent upward estimate revisions as a positive signal. Zacks #1-ranked stocks have delivered an average annual return of 25 percent since 1988.
At a forward P/E of 16.84, DG trades at a 19 percent discount to the industry average of 20.71. The stock's PEG ratio of 1.73 also favors it against the industry average of 1.91.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry ranks 56th among 250-plus sectors tracked, placing it in the top 23 percent.
