Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in CTRN means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of share price. This strategy reduces timing risk and builds wealth steadily through market ups and downs.
How This Calculator Works
Our DCA calculator simulates real market conditions using historical price data. It accounts for dividend reinvestment (DRIP), where each dividend payment automatically purchases additional shares. You can adjust the investment amount, frequency, time period, and compare against benchmarks like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100.
Same amount invested each month — only the day of purchase changes. How much does intra-month timing actually matter?
Best Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly low
Total Return+99.5%
Final Value$95.8K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+82.8%
Final Value$87.7K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+64.3%
Final Value$78.9K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap35.2 pp
Your timing vs best-16.7%
Your timing vs worst+18.4%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 10.0%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$21K~1.2x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$38K~1.3x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$100K~1.7x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$358K~3.0x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.2x your money
5 Years~1.3x your money
10 Years~1.7x your money
20 Years~3.0x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$550 est. gain
$8K+$2K est. gain
$20K+$8K est. gain
$72K+$48K est. gain
$250/mo
$10K+$1K est. gain
$19K+$4K est. gain
$50K+$20K est. gain
$179K+$119K est. gain
$500/mo
$21K+$3K est. gain
$38K+$8K est. gain
$100K+$40K est. gain
$358K+$238K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$41K+$5K est. gain
$77K+$17K est. gain
$200K+$80K est. gain
$716K+$476K est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 10.0% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$22.65
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$23.56
$10,500
$10,902
+3.83%
$402
Mar 2, 2020
$19.21
$11,000
$9,426
-14.31%
$-1,574
Apr 2, 2020
$7.43
$11,500
$4,146
-63.95%
$-7,354
May 4, 2020
$11.03
$12,000
$6,654
-44.55%
$-5,346
Jun 2, 2020
$16.22
$12,500
$10,286
-17.72%
$-2,214
Jul 2, 2020
$19.84
$13,000
$13,081
+0.62%
$81
Aug 3, 2020
$16.80
$13,500
$11,577
-14.25%
$-1,923
Sep 2, 2020
$20.89
$14,000
$14,895
+6.39%
$895
Oct 2, 2020
$26.55
$14,500
$19,431
+34.01%
$4,931
Nov 2, 2020
$26.59
$15,000
$19,960
+33.07%
$4,960
Dec 2, 2020
$36.45
$15,500
$27,862
+79.75%
$12,362
Jan 4, 2021
$47.06
$16,000
$36,472
+127.95%
$20,472
Feb 2, 2021
$59.63
$16,500
$46,714
+183.11%
$30,214
Mar 2, 2021
$81.61
$17,000
$64,433
+279.02%
$47,433
Apr 5, 2021
$87.92
$17,500
$69,915
+299.51%
$52,415
May 3, 2021
$106.42
$18,000
$85,126
+372.92%
$67,126
Jun 2, 2021
$83.73
$18,500
$67,476
+264.74%
$48,976
Jul 2, 2021
$91.33
$19,000
$74,101
+290.00%
$55,101
Aug 2, 2021
$78.30
$19,500
$64,029
+228.35%
$44,529
Sep 2, 2021
$88.22
$20,000
$72,641
+263.20%
$52,641
Oct 4, 2021
$74.46
$20,500
$61,811
+201.52%
$41,311
Nov 2, 2021
$81.27
$21,000
$67,964
+223.64%
$46,964
Dec 2, 2021
$80.09
$21,500
$67,477
+213.85%
$45,977
Jan 3, 2022
$88.97
$22,000
$75,459
+242.99%
$53,459
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in CTRN
Investing $500 per month in Citi Trends, Inc. (CTRN) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $88K today. That's +82.8% total return on $48K invested, with a +10.0% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $37 from reinvested dividends.