Citigroup Reiterates Buy Rating on Family Dollar Stores (FDO)

Citigroup is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Buy rating on Family Dollar Stores FDO; it has a $54.00 price target on the stock. The analysts said that, after slowing square footage growth and focusing on making “foundational investments” such as Project Accelerate, Store of the Future, and Concept Renewal in recent years, FDO is now well-positioned to leverage these investments to drive topline growth in F2011 and beyond through a combination of same-store sales gains, new store growth, and an aggressive store renovation program. As for valuation, the analysts remarked, “Our $54 target price for Family Dollar is based on our forward price-to-earnings (P/E) analysis. Our 12-month target price represents a 16x target multiple on our calendar 2011 EPS estimate.”