3 Things to Watch When Dollar General Reports Earnings on Thursday

Dollar General (DG) is set to report its second quarter financial results before the markets open on Thursday, August 27. Analysts are looking for earnings per share of 94 cents on sales of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the discount retailer saw revenue of $4.72 billion. Morningstar analyst Ken Perkins, who maintains a HOLD rating on the stock, will be keeping a close eye on the retailer’s traffic trends. ‘The company has done a great job of driving people into the stores, with things like tobacco, and has benefitted from the recession,’ Perkins said. ‘We’ll be really focused on the sustainability of those trends.’ During first quarter, same store sales, a key industry metric, rose 3.7 percent on the heels of stronger store traffic. Perkins also said competition from Walmart Stores (WMT) and the merger of Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Family Dollar earlier this year, could threaten Dollar General’s same store sales. TheStreet’s Scott Gamm reports from New York.