HI Vanessa,
I'm not Dan, but we have ATD.B on our foundational stock list for a reason. It is one of those rare companies that investors can be comfortable buying at any time and be happy wiht the long-term performance of the company.
Over the past month, it has dipped by double digits (-10.38%) on no fundamental news of note. One of the potential reasons for its recent slide, is the fact it has missed out on a landing a few big ticket acquisitions. The most recent was in early August when it lost a bid to acquire Marathon Petroleum Corp’s Speedway gas stations. It lost to one of its main competitors (7-Eleven).
Analysts have also been revising their outlook for 2020 and 2021 earnings downward. Over the past 90-days, average estimates have dropped by 8.5% and 11.2% respectively. This has been done in response to COVID-19 and greater clarity from the company after last quarter. It is however, a short-term headwind and important to note that all 13 analysts that cover teh company rate it a "Buy"- unanimous coverage which is a rare occurence.
All things considered, i think the dip makes for a good entry point. That being said, I am not a fan of trading in and around earnings. If I do, I usually take half my position pre-earnings and the other half post earnings. Although I may give up some immediate upside (if the price rises post earnings), I also protect against the downside (if the share price slips). Post-earnings, I will either average up or down as one quarter typically does not change my investment thesis unless there is a massive event that happened. This is unlikely as if its that big, it is likely to have been reported before earnings.
Mat