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

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) was up 5.7% during trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $84.26 and last traded at $84.11. Approximately 1,492,081 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.27.

Dollar General Trading Up 2.5 %

The company has a market cap of $17.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.63 and its 200 day moving average is $104.26.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. Research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. This trade represents a 2.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 4.3% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 30.6% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.8% in the second quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 7.3% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP increased its position in Dollar General by 1.2% during the second quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 9,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.