UPDATE: Sterne Agee Initiates Coverage on Dollar Tree With Buy Rating

In a report published on Wednesday analysts from Sterne Agee initiated coverage on

with a Buy rating and a $58 PT. In the report lead analyst Charles Groom commented that, "With traffic slowing recently (+1.3% in 3Q12-1Q13 vs. 4.9% average in prior ten periods) DLTR appears to have a renewed focus on driving higher sales per square foot. In addition to DLTR “staples,” namely adding more cooler doors (550 in '13; ~63% of chain equipped by YE) and its wide assortment flexibility (>50% of SKUs rotate each year), the Tree is developing more productive planograms and expanding assortments in key areas, such as candy, stationary, and party. DLTR is particularly focused on the check-out experience, adding new impulse racks and deepening product assortments in this area by 40%." Dollar closed on Wednesday at $48.12