Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 214,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,919 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $18,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 85.7% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,683,000 after acquiring an additional 26,813 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,650,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 231.6% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 37,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 26,165 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 278.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,086,000 after purchasing an additional 47,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter worth approximately $9,587,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on DG shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HSBC dropped their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,397,284.90. The trade was a 2.44 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:DG opened at $76.51 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.14. The company has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $73.51 and a 52-week high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.65%.

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.