Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Receives $108.11 Average Target Price from Analysts

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $107.84.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Dollar General stock opened at $81.41 on Friday. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $77.96 and a 52-week high of $168.07. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.19. The firm has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its 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 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. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is 34.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 directly owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the company’s 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 purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 43,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,697,000 after purchasing an additional 8,407 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $392,000. Southern Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,745,000 after acquiring an additional 12,350 shares during 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.