Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock Price

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $80.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

DG has been the subject of several other research reports. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Melius Research began coverage on Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.77.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG opened at $71.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.19 and its 200-day moving average is $90.41. Dollar General has a 12-month low of $66.43 and a 12-month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 27.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 44,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,925,000 after purchasing an additional 9,757 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 53.4% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 29.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,547,000 after buying an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 8.8% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 29,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,960,000 after acquiring an additional 2,415 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Dollar General by 74.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.