Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Stake Boosted by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 79,764 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,128 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Dollar General were worth $6,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 26,813 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew 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 purchasing an additional 26,165 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Dollar General by 278.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,086,000 after buying an additional 47,534 shares during the period. Kiltearn Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,587,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,987,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DG has been the topic of several research reports. Argus cut their price objective on Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Gordon Haskett cut Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Dollar General from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,298,812. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,298,812. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Dollar General Stock Performance

DG traded down $1.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.95. 3,885,503 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,427,763. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $76.76 and a 52 week high of $168.07. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.44 and a 200 day moving average of $112.68. The stock has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.65%.

Dollar General 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.