Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,628 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $3,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Dollar General by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 3.3% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Dollar General by 3.5% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Dollar General by 4.3% during the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:DG opened at $86.01 on Friday. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $77.96 and a 1 year high of $168.07. The stock has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.87.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on DG shares. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Dollar General from $139.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.