Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Trading 3.3% Higher - Here's Why

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 3.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $85.05 and last traded at $85.34. Approximately 1,115,199 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 3,538,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Dollar General from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.26.

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Dollar General Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $76.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dollar General news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.