Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Given New $94.00 Price Target at Bernstein Bank

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price target lowered by Bernstein Bank from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup lowered Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett raised Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.45.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG stock traded down $1.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.88. 3,704,309 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,199,770. The company has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.38. Dollar General has a twelve month low of $73.51 and a twelve month high of $168.07.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,298,812. The trade was a 1.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DG. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Dollar General by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Dollar General by 4.3% during the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Dollar General by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in Dollar General by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 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.