Sifting through countless of stocks in the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Target Corporation or Dollar General Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. It offers apparel for women, men, young adults, kids, toddlers, and babies, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty products, such as skin and bath care, cosmetics, hair care, oral care, deodorant, and shaving products. The company also provides food and beverage products comprising dry and perishable grocery, including snacks, candy, beverages, deli, bakery, meat, produce, and food service; electronics which includes video games and consoles, toys, sporting goods, entertainment, and luggage; bed and bath, home décor, school/office supplies, storage, small appliances, kitchenware, greeting cards, party supplies, furniture, lighting, home improvement, and seasonal merchandise; and household essentials, such as household cleaning, paper products, over-the-counter healthcare, vitamins and supplements, baby gear, and pet supplies. In addition, it sells merchandise through periodic design and creative partnerships, and shop-in-shop experience; and in-store amenities. The company sells its products through its stores; and digital channels, including Target.com. Target Corporation was incorporated in 1902 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dollar General Corporation, a discount retailer, provides various merchandise products in the southern, southwestern, midwestern, and eastern United States. It offers consumable products, including paper towels, bath tissues, paper dinnerware, trash and storage bags, disinfectants, and laundry products; packaged food, such as cereals, pasta, canned soups, canned meats, fruits and vegetables, condiments, spices, sugar, and flour; and perishables, including milk, eggs, bread, refrigerated and frozen food, beer, wine, and produce; candy, cookies, crackers, salty snacks, and carbonated beverages; over-the-counter medicines and personal care products including soap, body wash, shampoo, cosmetics, dental hygiene and foot care products; pet supplies and pet food; and tobacco products. The company also provides seasonal products comprising holiday items, toys, batteries, small electronics, greeting cards, stationery, prepaid phones and accessories, gardening supplies, hardware, automotive, and home office supplies; home products include kitchen supplies, cookware, small appliances, light bulbs, storage containers, frames, candles, craft supplies and kitchen, and bed and bath soft goods; and apparel products for infants, toddlers, girls, boys, women and men, as well as socks, underwear, disposable diapers, shoes and accessories. The company was formerly known as J.L. Turner & Son, Inc. and changed its name to Dollar General Corporation in 1968. Dollar General Corporation was founded in 1939 and is based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

Latest Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail and Target Corporation, Dollar General Corporation Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Target Corporation had a $74.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail median of $5.5 million. Target Corporation’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 76.72% in the past year.

Currently, Target Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 16.9. Target Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $107.7 billion with a 4.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.229 per share for the current fiscal year. Target Corporation currently has a 2.8% dividend yield.

Currently, Dollar General Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 17.0. Dollar General Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $43.6 billion with a 3.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.797 per share for the current fiscal year. Dollar General Corporation currently has a 1.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Target Corporation	TGT	C
Dollar General Corporation	DG	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Target Corporation has a Growth Score of 43, which is Average. Dollar General Corporation has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Dollar General Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Dollar General Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than Target Corporation. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Dollar General Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Target Corporation	TGT	A
Dollar General Corporation	DG	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Target Corporation has a Quality Score of 87, which is Very Strong. Dollar General Corporation has a Quality Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Target Corporation	TGT	A
Dollar General Corporation	DG	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Target Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 87, which is Very Positive. Dollar General Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 77, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Target Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Target Corporation has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Dollar General Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Target Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation Grades

In addition to Growth, Estimate Revisions and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Target Corporation or Dollar General Corporation Stock?

Overall, Target Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 43, Estimate Revisions Score of 87 and Quality Score of 87.

Dollar General Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 83, Estimate Revisions Score of 77 and Quality Score of 83.

Comparing Target Corporation and Dollar General Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.