Sanford C. Bernstein Begins Coverage on Dollar General (NYSE:DG)

Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on DG. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Melius Research began coverage on Dollar General in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.84.

Dollar General Price Performance

Dollar General stock opened at $81.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.19. Dollar General has a 12 month low of $77.96 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The company has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Dollar General will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 34.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,812. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,397,284.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Dollar General during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 117.7% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.