Oak Thistle LLC Invests $668,000 in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $668,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,650,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Dollar General by 231.6% in the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company's stock worth $3,168,000 after buying an additional 26,165 shares during the period. Leibman Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $2,018,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Dollar General by 62.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,087,000 after buying an additional 64,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter valued at $9,587,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of DG traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $69.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,023,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,963,348. The company has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.88 and a 200 day moving average of $92.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DG. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.18.

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.