Dollar General Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:DG)

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 46,069 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 197% compared to the average daily volume of 15,505 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DG shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $147.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

Dollar General Trading Down 3.2 %

DG opened at $81.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $119.37 and a 200 day moving average of $134.96. Dollar General has a 12 month low of $79.36 and a 12 month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 34.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in Dollar General by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.