Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Price Target Lowered to $88.00 at HSBC

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price target reduced by HSBC from $100.00 to $88.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on DG. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.45.

Dollar General Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DG traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.88. 3,704,309 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,199,770. The stock has a market cap 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. Dollar General has a fifty-two week low of $73.51 and a fifty-two week high of $168.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during 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%. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. This represents a 2.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 85.7% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,683,000 after buying an additional 26,813 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,650,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Dollar General by 231.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 26,165 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Dollar General by 278.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,086,000 after acquiring an additional 47,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter valued at about $9,587,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.