Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.48.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DG shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $139.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Gordon Haskett lowered Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup lowered Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday. Argus decreased their target price on Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,298,812. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,397,284.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,812. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE DG opened at $87.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General has a 1-year low of $77.96 and a 1-year high of $168.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.55 and a 200-day moving average of $127.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released 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). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.35%.

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.