Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $104.33, but opened at $111.00. Dollar General shares last traded at $110.34, with a volume of 935,523 shares trading hands.

Dollar General News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Dollar General this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised several longer-dated EPS estimates for Dollar General, including FY2027 to $7.12 from $7.01, FY2028 to $7.16 from $6.91, FY2029 to $7.38 from $6.92, and Q4 2028 to $2.01 from $1.77, signaling slightly better profit expectations over time.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also lifted its Q1 2029 estimate to $1.93 from $1.88, suggesting some improvement in the company’s longer-term earnings trajectory.
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS said Dollar General is likely to meet the market’s bar for about 2% comparable sales growth in Q1, which supports expectations heading into the report but does not indicate a major upside surprise.
• Neutral Sentiment: Dollar General is also facing a shareholder vote on a human-rights policy proposal and is in the middle of a CEO transition plan, both of which add governance overhang but do not directly change near-term earnings power.
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn kept a Sell rating and a $90 price target, and also trimmed some near-term estimates, including Q1 2027 to $1.88 from $1.91, Q2 2027 to $1.97 from $1.98, Q3 2027 to $1.33 from $1.36, and Q1 2028 to $1.86 from $1.87.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock is also being weighed by risk reduction ahead of the June 2 earnings release, with investors apparently waiting for clearer evidence that Dollar General can sustain sales and margin improvement.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DG. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Dollar General from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Dollar General from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $139.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.96.

Dollar General Trading Up 6.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.53. The company has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.28.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $10.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.78 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 3.54%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Dollar General has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.100-7.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 7th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. BOKF NA grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. BOKF NA now owns 554 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 5,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Tevis Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 16,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Dollar General

Dollar General Corporation is a U.S.-based variety and discount retailer operating a large network of small-format stores that serve primarily rural and suburban communities. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DG and is headquartered in the Nashville/Goodlettsville, Tennessee area. Founded in 1939, Dollar General has grown from a regional operation into one of the nation’s prominent low-price retailers focused on convenience and value.

Dollar General’s stores offer a wide assortment of everyday consumables and household goods, including food and beverage items, cleaning supplies, health and beauty products, paper goods, apparel basics, seasonal merchandise and small household items.