Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) to Issue $0.59 Quarterly Dividend

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, June 3rd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.59 per share on Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th.

Dollar General has increased its dividend by an average of 12.0% per year over the last three years. Dollar General has a dividend payout ratio of 37.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Dollar General to earn $5.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.5%.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE DG traded down $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,036,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,063,182. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.26. 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 fifty day moving average of $93.33 and a 200 day moving average of $81.82. Dollar General has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $135.57.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Dollar General's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Dollar General will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total transaction of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,317 shares of the company's stock worth $2,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Dollar General by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,580 shares of the company's stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 5,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Dollar General by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James increased their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Dollar General from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.19.

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.