Capital Investment Counsel Inc Acquires 9,402 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 33.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,273 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,402 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 279.8% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 126.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.7 %

DG stock opened at $76.16 on Friday. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $168.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DG shares. HSBC lowered their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America upgraded Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.77.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

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

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.