Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Rating Increased to Buy at Bank of America

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.44% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.27.

Dollar General Stock Performance

DG opened at $81.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.52 and its 200 day moving average is $103.60. Dollar General has a 12-month low of $72.12 and a 12-month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This trade represents a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Dollar General by 85.7% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,683,000 after buying an additional 26,813 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. purchased a new position in Dollar General during the third quarter worth $5,650,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 26,165 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Dollar General by 62.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,087,000 after buying an additional 64,336 shares during the period. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP purchased a new position in Dollar General during the second quarter worth $9,587,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.