Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock Price Down 3.4% – Here’s Why

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) was down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $73.12 and last traded at $73.38. Approximately 318,906 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 3,280,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DG. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Dollar General in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.27.

Dollar General Stock Up 3.4 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.39 and a 200 day moving average of $99.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly 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). The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 7.3% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Dollar General by 1.2% in the second quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 9,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.