GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $314,000 in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,047,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Dollar General by 294.5% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 14,127 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at $18,861,000. Professional Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Dollar General by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 150,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,523,000 after purchasing an additional 16,899 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the third quarter worth about $1,374,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $143.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $101.09 and a 12 month high of $222.99. The company has a market capitalization of $31.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.21 and its 200 day moving average is $135.13.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The firm had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is presently 31.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DG. Argus boosted their price objective on Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded Dollar General from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.08.

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.