Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 90.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,620 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 46,315 shares during the period. Dollar General makes up approximately 0.9% of Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $7,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Dollar General by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in Dollar General by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Peoples Bank KS increased its stake in Dollar General by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 1,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG opened at $76.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.43. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $168.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

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 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.77.

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.