Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Short Interest Update

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,900,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the December 15th total of 9,110,000 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Dollar General Stock Performance

DG stock traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.44. The stock had a trading volume of 3,380,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,174,597. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.59. The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,650,000. Leibman Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,018,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 231.6% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 26,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 62.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,087,000 after acquiring an additional 64,336 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DG. HSBC lowered their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.18.

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.