Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Acquired by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,013 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,186,000 after buying an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Leibman Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $2,018,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 5,624.9% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 321,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,385,000 after buying an additional 316,005 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY acquired a new position in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $6,158,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Melius Research raised shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Melius upgraded Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.75.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $93.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Dollar General Co. has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $147.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total value of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% 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.