Alberta Investment Management Corp Grows Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 1,968.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,441 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 98,441 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Dollar General were worth $7,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DG. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 279.8% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 126.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DG stock traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $76.38. 2,144,131 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,341,322. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $73.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.43. Dollar General Co. has a twelve month low of $66.43 and a twelve month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of Dollar General from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Dollar General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $96.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,128. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

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.