LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,917 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 35,735 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $12,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Dollar General by 279.8% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 126.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on DG. UBS Group decreased their price target on Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.26.

Dollar General Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $90.19 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $66.43 and a twelve month high of $164.12. The company has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.97.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 46.18%.

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.