AGF Management Ltd. Lowers Stake in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Dollar General by 3.2%, now holding 74,380 shares valued at approximately $6.54 million.
• Dollar General's recent earnings report showed a quarterly revenue of $10.44 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.78.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with a current annualized yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 45.04%.

AGF Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,380 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,492 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Dollar General were worth $6,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 29,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in Dollar General by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 108,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,563,000 after buying an additional 4,004 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the first quarter valued at about $41,798,000. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the first quarter valued at about $1,157,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Dollar General by 2.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,079,000 after buying an additional 89,067 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE:DG opened at $115.26 on Wednesday. Dollar General Corporation has a 52 week low of $66.43 and a 52 week high of $126.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $112.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.67.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%. The firm had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's payout ratio is presently 45.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $222,497.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,261,619. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total value of $718,223.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Dollar General from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer upgraded Dollar General from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Dollar General from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.52.

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.

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