Dollar General’s (DG) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $170.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on DG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Dollar General from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dollar General from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $153.08.

Dollar General Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DG traded up $6.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $145.23. 2,230,090 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,157,991. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.92. Dollar General has a 1 year low of $101.09 and a 1 year high of $206.26.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 26.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Dollar General will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Dollar General news, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,636,371.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,778.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Dollar General by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,071,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,408,514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,360,413 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,790,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,244,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Dollar General by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,217,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,155,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031,593 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,068,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,776,629,000 after purchasing an additional 133,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $337,150,000. 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.