Stephens Inc. AR Grows Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,633 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DG. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 1,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG stock opened at $72.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.94. The company has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.77.

Dollar General 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.