Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Upgraded by Gordon Haskett to Accumulate Rating

Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) from a reduce rating to an accumulate rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Dollar General from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Dollar General from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.96.

Dollar General Stock Up 16.0%

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $112.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $141.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.82.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.75 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, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.18%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total transaction of $76,628.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,596,951.04. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Dollar General by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Dollar General by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 26,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,007,000 after buying an additional 5,170 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth about $382,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its position in Dollar General by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Dollar General by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 33,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.