Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Price Target Lowered to $80.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its target price trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $90.00 to $80.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Dollar General in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

Dollar General Price Performance

Dollar General stock opened at $77.09 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $81.77 and its 200 day moving average is $109.57. Dollar General has a one year low of $73.51 and a one year high of $168.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Dollar General will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The trade was a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DG. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the second quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 117.7% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the second quarter worth about $39,000. 91.77% of the stock is 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.