Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Shares Down 3.4%

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)’s stock price dropped 3.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $84.36 and last traded at $84.37. Approximately 626,821 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 3,009,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on DG. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.48.

Dollar General Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.06 and a 200-day moving average of $126.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 34.35%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Dollar General news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 85.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,683,000 after buying an additional 26,813 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 278.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,086,000 after purchasing an additional 47,534 shares during the period. Kiltearn Partners LLP bought a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,587,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Dollar General by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,071,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,408,514,000 after buying an additional 3,360,413 shares during the period. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in Dollar General by 10.5% in the first quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 191,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,932,000 after buying an additional 18,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.