Citizens National Bank Trust Department Cuts Holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Citizens National Bank Trust Department decreased its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 54.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,860 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,240 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Dollar General in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 279.8% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 126.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG stock opened at $75.59 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.32. The company has a market cap of $16.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.77.

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.