Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $70.10 and last traded at $70.31, with a volume of 1141698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on DG shares. Bank of America raised Dollar General from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Dollar General from $94.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $122.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.18.

Dollar General Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.44. The firm has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 30.6% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Dollar General in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.