Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Downgraded to Hold at Daiwa America

Daiwa America lowered shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $147.00 to $141.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Dollar General from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $113.95.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $80.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.58. Dollar General has a one year low of $77.96 and a one year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Dollar General will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently 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.