Dollar General (DG) Looks Set to Continue the Steady Rise

This week we are looking at another of the Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) Top 50 List companies.  We use this list in one of our options portfolios to spot outperforming stocks and place option spreads that take advantage of the momentum.

Several Analysts have good things to say about DG, here are two of them – 2 Top Stocks to Buy in September and Hedge Funds Keep Buying Dollar General Corp.

Technicals

DG has been trading within a rising trend channel for just over four months. The 50-day moving average is currently near the lower boundary of the channel to offer a confluence of support. A test of this support zone in the past week resulted in a move higher which shows that buyers are willing to defend this area. In addition to the steady trend, DG has outperformed most of the stocks on the IBD Top 50 list over the past few weeks.

DG Chart September 2020

If you agree there’s further upside ahead for DG, consider this trade which relies on the stock remaining above $200 through the expiration on October 16.

Buy To Open DG 16OCT20 195 Puts (DG201016P195)
Sell To Open DG 16OCT20 200 Puts (DG201016P200) for a credit of $1.98 (selling a vertical)

This credit is $0.02 less than the mid-point of the option spread when DG was trading near $200.  Unless the stock rallies quickly from here, you should be able to get close to this amount.

Your commission on this trade will be only $1.30 per spread.  Each spread would then yield $196.70. This reduces your buying power by $500 and makes your investment $303.30 ($500 – $196.70).  If DG closes at any price above $200 on October 16, both options will expire worthless, and your return on the spread would be 65% ($196.70 / $303.30), or 741% annualized.

Changes to Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) Top 50 This Week:

IBD Underlying Updates September 12, 2020

We have found that the Investor’s Business Daily Top 50 List has been a reliable source of stocks that are likely to move higher in the short run.  Recent additions to the list might be particularly good choices for this strategy, and deletions might be good indicators for exiting a position that you might already have on that stock.

As with all investments, you should only make option trades with money that you can truly afford to lose.

Happy trading,

Terry