Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Upgraded by Cfra Research to "Hold" Rating

Cfra Research upgraded shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Free Report) to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on DG. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Dollar General from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Dollar General from $96.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a "reduce" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dollar General has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.04.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.3%

Dollar General stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $113.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,937,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,076,633. Dollar General has a 52 week low of $66.43 and a 52 week high of $135.46. 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 company has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.26. The business's 50 day moving average price is $94.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.66.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.04%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In related 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 owns 48,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in Dollar General by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 7,258 shares of the company's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 989 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Dollar General by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,983 shares of the company's stock worth $2,548,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.