Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Price Target Cut to $80.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $90.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on DG. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Dollar General from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Dollar General Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:DG traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $77.09. 3,250,852 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,200,010. The company's 50 day moving average is $81.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.99. The company has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. Dollar General has a twelve month low of $73.51 and a twelve month high of $168.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,298,812. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This represents a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Dollar General by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.