HSBC Has Lowered Expectations for Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock Price

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price target reduced by HSBC from $100.00 to $88.00 in a report published on Friday. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on DG. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Daiwa America cut shares of Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $77.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $81.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.57. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $73.51 and a 52-week high of $168.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This trade represents a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,298,812. This represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Dollar General by 24.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 87,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,720,000 after acquiring an additional 17,402 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Dollar General by 380.3% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 20,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 16,075 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 40.4% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,311,000 after acquiring an additional 7,942 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 4.5% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 34.2% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 125,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,534,000 after buying an additional 31,911 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently 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.