Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.27.

DG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America upgraded Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Dollar General Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $74.24 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.69. Dollar General has a one year low of $72.12 and a one year high of $168.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in Dollar General by 377.0% during the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 21.2% in the second quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 74.2% during the second quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 123.3% in the second quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Dollar General Company 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.