Equities research analysts at Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “hold” rating on the stock.
A number of other research analysts also recently commented on DG. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Dollar General from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $254.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Friday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $241.48.
DG traded down $5.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $223.06. 1,855,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,041,613. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $225.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.64. Dollar General has a 1-year low of $173.50 and a 1-year high of $240.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.50.
Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 2nd. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.07. Dollar General had a return on equity of 38.74% and a net margin of 7.19%. The company had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current year.
Dollar General declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
In other news, CEO Todd J. Vasos sold 337,456 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Friday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.97, for a total value of $74,567,652.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patricia Filikrushel sold 876 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $194,769.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 367,744 shares of company stock valued at $81,330,122 in the last three months. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 7.3% in the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 23,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Covington Capital Management boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 6.3% in the second quarter. Covington Capital Management now owns 23,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 7.1% in the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 249,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,969,000 after acquiring an additional 16,459 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 5.1% in the third quarter. Lake Street Financial LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 2.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 153,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,539,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495 shares during the last quarter. 91.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Dollar General
Dollar General Corp. engages in the operation of merchandise stores. Its offerings include food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares, and seasonal items. It sells brands including Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and PepsiCo The company was founded by J.