Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Trading Down 3.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Dollar General's stock price fell 3.4% on Wednesday, reaching a low of $101.10 before closing at $99.81, with trading volume down significantly at 189,427 shares compared to the average of over 3 million.
• Several brokerages have recently raised their price targets for Dollar General, with Barclays setting a new target of $127 and Bank of America at $135, while maintaining an overall consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $115.48.
• The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, scheduled for payment on October 21st.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) shares were down 3.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $101.10 and last traded at $99.81. Approximately 189,427 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 3,673,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DG. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $115.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold 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 $115.48.

Dollar General Trading Down 4.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.29.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.30. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 2.86%.The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.800-6.300 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. raised its stake in Dollar General by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Dollar General by 170.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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