Short Interest in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Expands By 7.7%

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,550,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the October 15th total of 6,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DG traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.58. 371,337 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,187,165. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.57. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $73.51 and a 52-week high of $168.07. The company has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were bought 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 owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Dollar General by 117.7% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DG. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Dollar General from $101.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $168.00 to $103.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

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.