CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Boosts Stock Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,990 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Birch Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 16,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,531,000 after buying an additional 4,701 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 104.9% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 1st quarter valued at about $466,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 18,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,824,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 1st quarter valued at about $732,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dollar General news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,778.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus upped their price target on Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Dollar General from $161.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Dollar General from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Dollar General from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.00.

Dollar General Stock Up 1.3 %

Dollar General stock opened at $130.43 on Tuesday. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $101.09 and a 1-year high of $173.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $136.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.98.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.89 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 22.80% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 34.35%.

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.