Empirical Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 36,000 Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Empirical Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,000. Dollar General makes up approximately 2.1% of Empirical Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 85.7% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,683,000 after purchasing an additional 26,813 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter worth approximately $5,650,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 231.6% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after buying an additional 26,165 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 62.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,087,000 after buying an additional 64,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter worth approximately $9,587,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG opened at $79.63 on Friday. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $72.12 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 2.31 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DG shares. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dollar General news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. The trade was a 2.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.