Dollar General and Dollar Tree to Open Near 52-Week Highs

At the end of last week, discount retailers Dollar General DG and Dollar Tree DLTR reached new multiyear highs of $38.59 and $76.32 per share, respectively. Dollar General launched an e-commerce site recently and opened some 260 new stores in the first half of 2011. Also, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) took a stake in the company in the second quarter. The company operates about 9,500 stores, in 39 states, that offer discounts on general merchandise. It has a market cap of $13.0 billion and was founded in 1939. Its return on equity is 16.2% and the long-term EPS growth forecast is 16.5%. Its PEG ratio is less than the industry average. The share price has increased more than 27% over the past six months. The stock has outperformed competitors Family Dollar FDO and Walmart WMT, as well as the broader markets, in that time. Dollar Tree initiated a $500 million share repurchase program in June. In August the company posted better-than-expected earnings and strong same-store sales as consumers continue to seek bargains. Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree has a $9.2 billion market cap and operates more than 4,100 stores in Canada and the U.S. under various banners. The company's long-term EPS growth forecast of 17.0% is better than the industry average. Its PEG ratio is less than the industry average. The return on equity is 30.4%. The share price has increased more than 56% over the past year and is up more than 13% in the past month. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed Dollar General and 99 Cents Only Stores NDN.