Sanford C. Bernstein Begins Coverage on Dollar General (NYSE:DG)

Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Gordon Haskett downgraded Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Dollar General from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.84.

Dollar General Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of DG opened at $80.38 on Tuesday. Dollar General has a fifty-two week low of $77.96 and a fifty-two week high of $168.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.44 and its 200 day moving average is $117.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Dollar General will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 34.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,397,284.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,397,284.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 1,463.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 41,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,640,000 after acquiring an additional 38,830 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Dollar General by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 1.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 36.2% during the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 975 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the first quarter valued at $3,215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Company 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.