Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 574 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of DG stock opened at $77.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $73.51 and a 1-year high of $168.07.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup cut Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. The trade was a 2.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.