Dollar General Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:DG)

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 34,256 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 66% compared to the average volume of 20,660 call options.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG stock traded down $1.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.82. The stock had a trading volume of 10,627,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,748,103. The stock has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40. 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's 50 day moving average price is $78.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.13. Dollar General has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $161.99.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 46.18%.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett cut Dollar General from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.26.

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.