Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Downgraded by Gordon Haskett to Hold

Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on DG. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.77.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG opened at $72.21 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Dollar General by 279.8% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.