Insider Selling: Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) EVP Sells 4,740 Shares of Stock

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction 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 $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of DG stock traded down $1.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $75.35. 3,315,979 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,288,416. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.13. Dollar General Co. has a twelve month low of $72.12 and a twelve month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 117.7% during the second 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. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Dollar General in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Dollar General by 73.9% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.