Jeffrey Smith, CEO of activist hedge fund Starboard Value, wants Dollar Tree to lift its $1 price ceiling on products.
Smith wrote to Dollar Tree CEO Gary Philbin Monday to reveal that his fund had invested a 1.7% stake in the bargain retail company, while indicating that there should be more room to raise product prices at Dollar Tree stores. "Dollar Tree has kept its prices at $1.00 since its founding thirty years ago, despite the fact that $1.00 in 1986 is worth approximately $2.30 today, due to inflation," Smith wrote. Smith feels that by rigidly restricting prices within $1, Dollar Tree could potentially be sacrificing product quality or size.
"Dollar Tree has a great customer base, and we believe its loyalty stems from the fantastic value customers find at Dollar Tree, not merely because everything in the store is the same price," Smith added in the note.
Starboard also wants Dollar Tree to consider selling Family Dollar, a chain of stores that it bought in 2015. Starboard has also planned to nominate seven directors for Dollar Tree's board at next shareholder meeting. The hedge fund hopes to work on strategic changes with Dollar Tree’s existing management team.
Dollar Tree appreciated Smith’s suggestions, and responded, "Dollar Tree is focused on ensuring our brands are the premier shopping destination for value and convenience, taking the right actions to solidify our leadership position in value retail". The company has already added four new independent directors since May 2016.
The RSI Oscillator for DLTR moved out of oversold territory on October 08, 2025. This could be a sign that the stock is shifting from a downward trend to an upward trend. Traders may want to buy the stock or call options. The A.I.dvisor looked at 30 similar instances when the indicator left oversold territory. In of the 30 cases the stock moved higher. This puts the odds of a move higher at .
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on October 14, 2025. You may want to consider a long position or call options on DLTR as a result. In of 70 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for DLTR just turned positive on October 13, 2025. Looking at past instances where DLTR's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in of 38 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where DLTR advanced for three days, in of 291 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
DLTR may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the stock or exploring call options.
The Stochastic Oscillator has been in the overbought zone for 1 day. Expect a price pull-back in the near future.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where DLTR declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
The Aroon Indicator for DLTR entered a downward trend on October 16, 2025. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating steady price growth. DLTR’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Seasonality Score of (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. The Tickeron Seasonality score describes the variance of predictable price changes around the same period every calendar year. These changes can be tied to a specific month, quarter, holiday or vacation period, as well as a meteorological or growing season.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is slightly overvalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (5.319) is normal, around the industry mean (7.714). P/E Ratio (18.223) is within average values for comparable stocks, (31.464). DLTR's Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (0.962) is slightly lower than the industry average of (2.490). DLTR has a moderately low Dividend Yield (0.000) as compared to the industry average of (0.026). P/S Ratio (1.079) is also within normal values, averaging (1.449).
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating that the returns do not compensate for the risks. DLTR’s unstable profits reported over time resulted in significant Drawdowns within these last five years. A stable profit reduces stock drawdown and volatility. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 59, placing this stock worse than average.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating weak sales and an unprofitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
an operator of discount variety stores
Industry DiscountStores