Citigroup Inc. Trims Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Citigroup Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 44.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 192,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151,243 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.09% of Dollar General worth $16,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 453.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,238,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $865,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,388,735 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 148.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,257,000 after buying an additional 765,206 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Dollar General by 319.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 925,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,324,000 after acquiring an additional 704,639 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,986,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 2,291.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 414,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,836,000 after purchasing an additional 397,354 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of DG stock opened at $76.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $72.12 and a 1 year high of $168.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. HSBC cut their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This represents a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.