Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,722 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $4,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. South Dakota Investment Council boosted its stake in Dollar General by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 138,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,891,000 after buying an additional 19,148 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $314,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 355,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,390,000 after purchasing an additional 11,146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Dollar General from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays raised Dollar General from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Dollar General Price Performance

DG opened at $142.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $31.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.42. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $101.09 and a 1 year high of $222.99.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. Dollar General’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.22%.

Dollar General 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.