Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $108.11.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup lowered shares of Dollar General from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $139.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG traded down $1.30 on Friday, reaching $80.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,808,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,131,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $77.96 and a 52-week high of $168.07. The stock's 50-day moving average is $93.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 34.35%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Dollar General by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,790,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,244,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113,485 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,217,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,155,141,000 after buying an additional 2,031,593 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General during the 1st quarter worth approximately $301,738,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 148.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company's stock worth $169,257,000 after acquiring an additional 765,206 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Dollar General by 319.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 925,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,324,000 after acquiring an additional 704,639 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.