Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Gordon Haskett cut Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, August 30th. Melius Research started 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. Daiwa America lowered Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.84.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.5 %

Dollar General stock opened at $81.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.19. Dollar General has a twelve month low of $77.96 and a twelve month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Dollar General 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 paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is presently 34.35%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,812. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,812. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,187.42. This trade represents 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 11.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,790,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,244,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,485 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,217,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,155,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031,593 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 1st quarter worth about $301,738,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Dollar General by 148.6% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,257,000 after purchasing an additional 765,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Dollar General by 319.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 925,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,324,000 after purchasing an additional 704,639 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.