Analysts Set Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Target Price at $153.08

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $153.08.

DG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Dollar General from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Dollar General from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th.

Dollar General Stock Performance

NYSE DG opened at $142.07 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $150.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.90. Dollar General has a fifty-two week low of $101.09 and a fifty-two week high of $222.99. The company has a market cap of $31.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. Dollar General had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 26.13%. The company had revenue of $9.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,047,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 294.5% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 14,127 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,861,000. Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Dollar General by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 150,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,523,000 after buying an additional 16,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General during the third quarter worth $1,374,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.