Analysts Set Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Price Target at $92.26

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have issued a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.26.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DG. Barclays decreased their price target on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $83.84 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $164.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.76. The company has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 46.18%.

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.