Bernstein Bank Has Lowered Expectations for Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock Price

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price target decreased by Bernstein Bank from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. Bernstein Bank’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 24.04% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on DG. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Melius Research started coverage on Dollar General in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.45.

Dollar General Stock Down 1.6 %

Dollar General stock traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,026,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,192,223. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Dollar General has a 12-month low of $73.51 and a 12-month high of $168.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,812. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $250,187.42. This represents a 41.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 453.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,238,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388,735 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $194,832,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Dollar General by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,790,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,244,491,000 after buying an additional 2,113,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 11.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,217,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,155,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031,593 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 148.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,257,000 after buying an additional 765,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

About Dollar General

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 and cleaning products, such as paper towels, bath tissues, paper dinnerware, trash and storage bags, disinfectants, and laundry products; packaged food comprising cereals, pasta, canned soups, fruits and vegetables, condiments, spices, sugar, and flour; and perishables that include milk, eggs, bread, refrigerated and frozen food, beer, and wine.