In Thursday trading, shares of Dollar General (DG, Financial) rose on the heels of the company reporting its financial results for the fourth quarter. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.48. Revenue of $6.13 billion grew 2.0% from the prior-year quarter, but fell short of Wall Street's expectations by $70 million.
“I am pleased with our overall fourth quarter performance, as we delivered strong same-store sales growth of 3.3%, while achieving a healthy rate of gross margin expansion," CEO Todd Vasos said. "For the year, we opened a record 1,315 new stores and delivered a same-store sales increase of 2.7%, marking our 28th consecutive year of positive same-store sales growth.”
Moreover, the company’s gross profit margin reached 32.1%, up from 31.6% in the prior-year quarter. The growth was due to higher initial inventory markups, an improved rate of inventory shrink and a reduction in markdowns.
The company repurchased $580 million worth of stock in fiscal 2017 for an average price of $82.11 per share.
The company's board of directors also increased the share repurchase program by $1 billion and approved a quarterly cash dividend of 29 cents per share, which represents a 12% increase from the previous quarterly dividend.
Looking ahead, the company expects fiscal 2018 diluted earnings per share to be between $5.95 and $6.15.
On the other hand, Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD, Financial)Â lost ground after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.69 on revenue of $4.38Â billion. The company’s revenue declined 27.6% year over year, but beat expectations by $520 million.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
