Avondale Partners analyst Mark Montagna says Dollar General is poised to deliver better-than-expected first-quarter profits on June 1 and has raised his earnings per share estimate to 52 cents from 49 cents. Montagna cites a number of industry data points, including competitor Dollar Tree's recent earnings beat and the persistent drop in traffic at Walmart stores. The Street expects Dollar General (Ticker: DG [2]) to post a 50-cent profit next week but Montagna says the Goodlettsville-based company "is capturing higher traffic, average ticket, units per transaction, and increased discretionary purchases."
Analyst Joe Buckley at Bank of America Merrill Lynch has lowered his price target [3] for shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store to $55 from $61 after the Lebanon-based company (Ticker: CBRL [4]) reported its fiscal Q3 numbers and said the next quarter will fall well short [5] of the Street's outlook. Buckley, who's based in New York, also has lowered his fiscal '11 EPS estimates to the midpoint of Cracker Barrel's new guidance.