Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Price Target Lowered to $97.00 at Evercore ISI

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price objective trimmed by Evercore ISI from $101.00 to $97.00 in a research note published on Friday morning. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Daiwa America lowered Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley cut Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.45.

Dollar General Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DG traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.88. 3,704,309 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,199,770. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.38. The company has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45. Dollar General has a twelve month low of $73.51 and a twelve month high of $168.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.65%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,298,812. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 30.6% during the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.8% in the second quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted 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 valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.