Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Price Target Cut to $100.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

DG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup cut Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.18.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG stock opened at $71.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.71. Dollar General has a 12-month low of $70.15 and a 12-month high of $168.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This trade represents a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Dollar General by 117.7% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.