Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Receives $113.95 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $109.48.

Several research firms recently commented on DG. Morgan Stanley lowered Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group cut Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $103.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Dollar General from $147.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup cut shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,187.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,397,284.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 12.4% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.3% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 3.5% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Dollar General by 4.3% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Dollar General by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE:DG opened at $87.31 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.07. Dollar General has a 52 week low of $77.96 and a 52 week high of $168.07. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44. 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 (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 34.35%.

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.