Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $138.46 and last traded at $137.0510, with a volume of 113097 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $137.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Dollar General from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Dollar General from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.73.

Dollar General Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $30.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $110.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.64.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.33. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 3.03%.The business had revenue of $10.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.76%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Wheeler sold 9,776 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.32, for a total value of $1,322,888.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,016,959.40. This trade represents a 30.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.35, for a total value of $304,304.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,815,001.80. This trade represents a 5.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,673 shares of company stock worth $7,713,389. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 416.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,525,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,759,000 after buying an additional 2,036,573 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 116.0% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,714,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458,093 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Dollar General by 251.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,035,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456,549 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Dollar General during the second quarter valued at approximately $154,371,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Dollar General by 15,369.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,219,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

About Dollar General

Dollar General Corporation is a U.S.-based variety and discount retailer operating a large network of small-format stores that serve primarily rural and suburban communities. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DG and is headquartered in the Nashville/Goodlettsville, Tennessee area. Founded in 1939, Dollar General has grown from a regional operation into one of the nation’s prominent low-price retailers focused on convenience and value.

Dollar General’s stores offer a wide assortment of everyday consumables and household goods, including food and beverage items, cleaning supplies, health and beauty products, paper goods, apparel basics, seasonal merchandise and small household items.