Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Dollar General (NYSE:DG)

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 34,256 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 66% compared to the average volume of 20,660 call options.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Dollar General stock opened at $94.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Dollar General has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $164.12. The company has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.68 and its 200-day moving average is $78.08.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.