Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $74.73 and last traded at $74.81, with a volume of 620006 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Gordon Haskett raised Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.05.

Dollar General Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.31. The company has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.45. 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 announced 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 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 firm earned $2.13 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $250,187.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Dollar General by 24.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 87,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,720,000 after purchasing an additional 17,402 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 33,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,187,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Dollar General by 185.0% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,461,000 after buying an additional 6,077 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Dollar General by 7.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 255,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,835,000 after acquiring an additional 17,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 282,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,086,000 after purchasing an additional 43,835 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.