Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has raised its target price for Dollar General stock from $118.00 to $120.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.70% from its current price.
• The stock is currently rated as a "hold" by several analysts, with a consensus average price target of $108.52.
• Dollar General reported $1.78 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.32 and showing a 5.3% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $118.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "in-line" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI's price target points to a potential upside of 4.70% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Dollar General to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.52.

Dollar General Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of DG opened at $114.61 on Tuesday. Dollar General has a 52 week low of $66.43 and a 52 week high of $126.98. The firm has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.31. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $111.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $222,497.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,646,027.76. This represents a 13.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the company's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,403 shares of the company's stock worth $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 10,306 shares of the company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth about $45,899,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the company's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

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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