Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Downgraded by Gordon Haskett to “Reduce”

Gordon Haskett cut shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on DG. Citigroup raised Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Dollar General from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.75.

Dollar General Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Dollar General stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.79. 3,736,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,815,556. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $79.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.20. Dollar General has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $156.25.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total value of $76,628.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Dollar General during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.