DnB Asset Management AS Raises Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,908 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 579 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DG. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 279.8% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG opened at $88.05 on Tuesday. Dollar General Co. has a twelve month low of $66.43 and a twelve month high of $164.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.86.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 46.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.26.

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.