Waycross Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Waycross Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,874 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,939 shares during the period. Dollar General accounts for approximately 1.6% of Waycross Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Waycross Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of Dollar General worth $12,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 279.8% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 126.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE DG traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.68. The stock had a trading volume of 3,527,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,385,456. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.43. Dollar General Co. has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $168.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.95.

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). The firm had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,206,128. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America upgraded Dollar General from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $96.77.

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.