Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $70.10 and last traded at $70.31, with a volume of 1141698 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DG. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Melius Research began coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.18.

Dollar General Trading Down 2.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business 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 business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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 owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,128. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Foundation Resource Management Inc. raised its position in Dollar General by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 99,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 5,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 2,731.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 195,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,800,000 after acquiring an additional 188,308 shares during the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. purchased a new position in Dollar General during the 4th quarter valued at $410,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth $668,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.