Key Events: During the first half of fiscal 2015, Dollar General opened 428 new stores and remodeled or relocated 593 stores and repurchased 9.7 million shares for $734.3 million. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.77, for a total transaction of $389,783.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Dollar General, which mainly sells lower-margin food and household products, had about 12,198 stores.

The investments come as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. both have put a priority on improving in-stock levels at their stores, and are investing more on higher wages.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The same-store sales are expected to hike 3% to 3.5%.

With DG stock also dishing out a modest 1.2% dividend yield, value investors – or anyone looking to reposition into some lower-risk stocks in the wake of the recent selloff – should strongly consider buying Dollar General shares on the pullback. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect revenue of $3.95 per share on revenue of $20.5 billion for the year. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Dollar General Corp. from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.35.

Three analysts that have weighed in on Dollar General since early June have either reiterated or initiated coverage with the equivalent of a Buy rating. The California-based fund Meritage Group Lp revealed it had bought so far a stake worth about 5.72% of the fund’s stock portfolio in Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) traded down 2.84% during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $74.53.

The company shares have rallied 17.55% in the past 52 Weeks. Post opening the session at $76.06, the shares hit an intraday low of $73.71 and an intraday high of $76.44 and the price vacillated in this range throughout the day. Dollar General Corp. has a 12-month low of $57.09 and a 12-month high of $81.42. “We remain confident in the long-term growth prospects for Dollar General to deliver strong financial results and healthy cash returns for our shareholders”, said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s chief executive officer. During the same period past year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Same store sales are expected to grow 3-3.5% for fiscal 2015.

The company’s bottom-line widened by 14.5% for the second quarter in comparison the same quarter of the prior fiscal year, reflecting $0.95 Earnings per Share (EPS).