=Dollar General (DG) reported earnings on Thur 10 March 2016 (b/o)

Dollar General beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; sees FY16 growth at high end of targets; raises dividend :

• Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $1.30 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.26; revenues rose 7.0% year/year to $5.29 bln vs the $5.28 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Fourth Quarter Same-Store Sales Increased 2.2%
• On March 8, 2016, the Board of Directors approved an increase of 14 percent in its regular quarterly cash dividend to shareholders. The first quarter dividend of $0.25 per share will be payable on April 12, 2016 to shareholders of record of the Company's common stock on March 29, 2016.
• Provides annual growth targets: Net sales annual target of +7%-10%, Same-store sales +2%-4%, EPS +10-15%.
• Including the impact of the 53rd week, the company expects its fiscal 2016 net sales and diluted EPS results to be at the high end of the ranges outlined in the growth model above. Same-store sales growth for fiscal 2016 is forecasted to be near the middle of the range as outlined in the growth model above. Consensus for FY16 is for sales growth of 8% and EPS growth of 13%.