Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.77.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Dollar General in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $71.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General has a fifty-two week low of $66.43 and a fifty-two week high of $168.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 104,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,928,000 after acquiring an additional 5,089 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Dollar General by 5,624.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 321,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,385,000 after purchasing an additional 316,005 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $382,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 698.0% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 259,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,576,000 after buying an additional 226,779 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Company Profile

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.