Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Receives $107.05 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.05.

DG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered Dollar General from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut Dollar General from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $250,187.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 1,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 85.7% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,683,000 after purchasing an additional 26,813 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the third quarter worth about $5,650,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 231.6% in the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 26,165 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 278.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,628 shares of the company's stock worth $10,086,000 after acquiring an additional 47,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter worth $9,587,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.63. 3,134,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,186,945. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business's fifty day moving average is $82.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.79. Dollar General has a one year low of $73.51 and a one year high of $168.07. The stock has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.45.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.65%.

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.