Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Trading Up 3.7% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) were up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $93.70 and last traded at $93.53. Approximately 5,484,108 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 49% from the average daily volume of 3,692,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Gordon Haskett lowered Dollar General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.33.

Dollar General Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $78.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.06. 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 company has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40.

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Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. Dollar General's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

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