Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 64.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,354,248 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 531,884 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $102,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth about $399,433,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 8,426.1% in the 4th quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 4,041,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,424,000 after buying an additional 3,994,070 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,421,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,767,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,199,000 after buying an additional 1,528,450 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 8.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,958,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,208,000 after acquiring an additional 759,869 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG stock opened at $86.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $164.12. The firm has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Gordon Haskett cut Dollar General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.26.

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.