352,599 Shares in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Purchased by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 352,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,819,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.16% of Dollar General as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 453.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,238,886 shares of the company's stock worth $865,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388,735 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA purchased a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $194,832,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 148.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $169,257,000 after buying an additional 765,206 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $842,208,000 after buying an additional 759,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 319.6% during the 2nd 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DG. HSBC decreased their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.27.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of DG stock traded up $1.99 on Friday, reaching $81.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,926,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,770,983. The company has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Dollar General Co. has a 12-month low of $72.12 and a 12-month high of $168.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.60.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 42,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. This represents a 2.44 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.