Loop Capital Raises Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Price Target to $140.00

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price objective raised by Loop Capital from $135.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Argus raised their target price on Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $147.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $148.23.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of Dollar General stock opened at $130.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.07. Dollar General has a 52 week low of $101.09 and a 52 week high of $173.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $28.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.08. Dollar General had a return on equity of 22.80% and a net margin of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 34.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total transaction of $958,617.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Dollar General by 78.0% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 219 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.