Dollar General stock climbs after earnings beat, higher guidance

Dollar General Corp. said Thursday it had net income of $253 million, or 93 cents a share, in the third quarter, up from $235 million, or 84 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The EPS number included a 5 cents charge related to hurricane damage. Sales rose 11% to $5.90 billion and same-store sales rose 4.3%. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 94 cents, sales of $5.79 billion and same-store sales growth of 2.7%. Chief Executive Todd Vasos said the company is planning to execute about 2,000 real estate projects in fiscal 2018, comprised of 900 new stores, 1,000 store remodels and 100 store relocations. "We continue to believe that investing in the business through our high-return new store growth is the best use of our capital to help drive long-term shareholder value. Our new store growth is complemented with a significant increase in our store remodel program from fiscal 2017 that we view as an investment to enhance and consistently deliver on our brand promise to help our customers save time and money every day," he said in a statement. The company narrowed its fiscal 2017 guidance and now expects EPS of $4.37 to $4.47, compared with prior guidance of $4.35 to $4.50. It expects sales to grow about 7%, compared with prior guidance of 5% to 7% and it expects same-store sales to grow about 2.5%, compared with prior guidance of slightly positive to up 2%. Shares rose 1.3% premarket, and have gained 23% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

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