Birch Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Birch Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 90.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,967 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,999 shares during the quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Dollar General by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Dollar General by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP increased its stake in Dollar General by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 9,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, X Square Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 1.1% in the second quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 13,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG traded down $0.61 on Tuesday, hitting $74.65. 1,848,186 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,682,461. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.07. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $72.12 and a 1-year high of $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DG. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.27.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.