Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $96.77.

DG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the business’s 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 directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 279.8% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $75.59 on Thursday. Dollar General has a 12-month low of $66.43 and a 12-month high of $168.07. 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 $73.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

About Dollar General

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.