Commerce Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Commerce Bank decreased its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 52.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,932 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Manhattan Co. grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 447.4% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Goldstream Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $106.25 per share, with a total value of $212,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,290,137.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Performance

DG stock opened at $117.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.77. Dollar General Co. has a twelve month low of $101.09 and a twelve month high of $260.07. The firm has a market cap of $25.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.37.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 31st. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by ($0.34). Dollar General had a return on equity of 36.34% and a net margin of 5.59%. The business had revenue of $9.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 6th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 24.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Dollar General from $175.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 13th. HSBC upgraded Dollar General from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Dollar General from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Dollar General from $146.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.04.

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.