Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $153.08.

DG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Dollar General from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays raised Dollar General from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $124.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com raised Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:DG opened at $142.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $150.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.18. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $101.09 and a 52-week high of $222.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $31.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.42.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 31.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter worth $253,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 20.6% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 13,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after buying an additional 2,283 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 244.1% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 5,329 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 78.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.