Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock Price Up 5.7% Following Dividend Announcement

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)’s stock price shot up 5.7% on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $84.26 and last traded at $84.11. 1,492,081 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 3,261,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.60.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DG has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Daiwa America lowered shares of Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.27.

Dollar General Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.52 and a 200-day moving average of $103.60. 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 (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). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. This represents 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.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 85.7% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the third quarter worth approximately $5,650,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 26,165 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 62.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,087,000 after purchasing an additional 64,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter worth approximately $9,587,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.