How To Earn $500 A Month From Dollar General After Sour Earnings Print

Shares of Dollar General Corp DG fell more than 13% Thursday following the company’s less-than-stellar second-quarter earnings report. Here's what you need to know about the print, and how to earn $500 a month from the stock — equity appreciation aside.

By The Numbers: Dollar General reported $9.80 billion in revenues over the quarter, a 3.9% year-over-year growth, but missed the $9.92 billion consensus estimate. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company reported earnings of $2.13 per share, which missed the $2.46 consensus estimates, according to Benzinga Pro.

Digging a little deeper, gross profit margins slipped 1.26% year over year to 31.1%. Operating income for the quarter also took a hit, down 24.2% to $692.3 million.

While the numbers paint a challenging outlook for Dollar General, they shouldn’t overshadow the company’s dividend potential. Despite the print, the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.59 per share, payable before Oct. 24, to shareholders of record as of Oct. 10.

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So how would you earn $500 per month? By buying a lot of shares. Dollar General’s dividend yield currently stands at 1.73%. So to earn $500 per month, or $6,000 per year, you would need to buy about 2,534 shares, which at current prices will run you $346,820. For those looking for a less hefty commitment, a $69,364 investment would get you 507 shares, yielding $100 per month.

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time.

The dividend yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend payment by the current stock price. As the stock price changes, the dividend yield will also change.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and its current price is $50, its dividend yield would be 4%. However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield would decrease to 3.33% ($2/$60).

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