Beddow Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Beddow Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,545 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,022 shares during the quarter. Dollar General makes up approximately 2.3% of Beddow Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Beddow Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $5,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Dollar General in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Dollar General by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on DG. Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Insider Activity

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

Dollar General Trading Up 1.6 %

Dollar General stock opened at $77.09 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.57. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $73.51 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

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.