Have you been paying attention to shares of Dollar General (DG)? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 2.1% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $155 in the previous session. Dollar General has gained 12.7% since the start of the year compared to the -0.5% gain 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 $7.08 per share on $42.56 in revenues. Meanwhile, for the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $7.78 per share on $44.28 in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 9.15% and 4.06%, respectively.
Valuation Metrics
While Dollar General has moved to its 52-week high in the recent past, 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). The individual style scores for Value, Growth, Momentum and the combined VGM Score run from A through F. 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 A and F, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of A.
In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 21.1X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is not in-line with the peer industry average of 27.9X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 14.5X versus its peer group's average of 21.2X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 2.49. 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 consider the stock's Zacks Rank, as this is even more important than the company's VGM Score. Fortunately, Dollar General currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (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 passes the test. Thus, it seems as though Dollar General shares could have a bit more room to run in the near term.
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Dollar General Corporation (DG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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