NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Dollar General (DG) - Get Report are up 3.95% to $74.27 in midday trading today on heavy volume after the company reported fourth quarter results in line with estimates but issued lower 2015 guidance.

The Googlettsville, TN-based company reported earnings of $1.17 per share on revenue of $4.94 billion, in line with earnings estimates and close to revenue estimates of $4.95 billion, according to data compiled by Reuters.

Same-store-sales rose 4.9%, in line with average expectation of analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.

The company authorized a $1 billion share repurchase plan with no expiration date.

Also, its outlook for 2015 full year earnings came in below analysts' expectations, and CFO David Tehle plans to retire in July.

Dollar General forecast earnings between $3.85 and $3.95 per share for the year, below the average of analysts' estimates of $3.99.

Total sales are expected to increase 8% to 9%, or $20.42 billion to $20.61 billion. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $20.54 billion, according to Reuters.

Dollar General is a discount retailer which offers a selection of merchandise, including consumable products such as food, paper and cleaning products, health and beauty products, pet supplies and tobacco products, and non-consumable products such as seasonal merchandise, home decor and domestics, and basic apparel.

Insight from TheStreet's Research Team:

Dollar General is a core holding of Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager and Jack Mohr, Director of Research - Action Alerts PLUS issued an alert immediately following the report:

Here's a part of what they had to say:

...Shares are sharply higher in trading this morning as the market seems to be relieved that the company was able to hit its 5% 4Q comp estimate and, more importantly, reacting favorably to management's commitment to buy back $1.3 billion in shares and the initiation of a quarterly dividend.

The comp increase was driven by both greater store traffic and a higher average ticket, with candy and snacks, tobacco, perishables, and health care the top-performing product categories.

The gross margin fell 23 bp, which was 25bps worse than Street consensus. The decline was primarily driven by the continuing shift in sales mix towards consumables, which is the category with the lowest gross profit rate (mainly tobacco and perishables) and represents approximately 74% of net sales.

In addition, West Coast port disruptions delayed the receipt of higher margin seasonal inventory, contributing to lower initial markups. Management estimates the impact on gross margin was about $8.5 million, or $0.02 per share.

Overall we believe we were right in exercising caution ahead of this quarter in respect to the company's operating performance, yet did not anticipate such a meaningful capital allocation program to be put in place. We are glad, however, that we still have a position in the name given today's outperformance.

- Jim Cramer and Jack Mohr, 'Dollar General Up on Management's Plans' originally published 3/12/2015 on ActionAlertsPLUS.com.

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Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates DOLLAR GENERAL CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of A. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate DOLLAR GENERAL CORP (DG) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, growth in earnings per share, good cash flow from operations and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins." You can view the full analysis from the report here: DG Ratings Report