GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,501 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,831 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $1,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Dollar General by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,534 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General during the first quarter worth $280,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Dollar General by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 107,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,137,000 after acquiring an additional 16,453 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett raised Dollar General from a “reduce” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Dollar General from $80.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer raised Dollar General from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $115.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.08.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Dollar General stock opened at $112.92 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $100.90 and its 200-day moving average is $85.73. The company has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Dollar General Corporation has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $135.46.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.04%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $222,497.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total value of $718,223.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,216 shares of company stock worth $1,017,349 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.