By Steve Gelsi
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR 43.20, +1.38, +3.30%) said Thursday its second-quarter net income rose to $78 million, or 61 cents a share, from $56.9 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $1.38 billion, from $1.22 billion. Wall Street analysts expected Dollar Tree to earn 54 cents a share on revenue of $1.35 billion, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet Research. The Chesapeake, Va. retailer said it expects to report third-quarter net income of 57 cents a share to 62 cents a share, compared to the analyst target of 61 cents a share.