Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Short Interest Update

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,220,000 shares, a decrease of 5.6% from the June 15th total of 6,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of Dollar General stock traded down $4.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,325,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,426,003. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Dollar General has a one year low of $101.09 and a one year high of $173.47.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.89 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 22.80%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on DG. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Dollar General by 12.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.5% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Dollar General by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Dollar General by 14.8% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.