Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $74.85, but opened at $78.62. Dollar General shares last traded at $79.90, with a volume of 1,388,907 shares changing hands.

The company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DG. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC lowered their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bernstein Bank lowered their price target on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America upgraded Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Probity Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at about $265,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lifted its stake in Dollar General by 714.4% during the 4th quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 25,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 22,255 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in Dollar General by 390.9% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 9,897 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $12,114,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Dollar General by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 71,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,389,000 after acquiring an additional 27,170 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Trading Up 6.9 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.61 and a 200-day moving average of $78.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44.

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.