American Trust Increases Position in Dollar General Corporation $DG

Key Points

• American Trust significantly increased its holdings in Dollar General Corporation by 69.8%, acquiring 10,984 shares to reach a total of 26,723 shares worth $2,350,000.
• Dollar General reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.86, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.30, along with a revenue of $10.73 billion, a 5.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.59 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 7th.

American Trust boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 69.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,723 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,984 shares during the period. American Trust's holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DG. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Dollar General by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Dollar General by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 107,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,137,000 after acquiring an additional 16,453 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Dollar General by 211.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 115,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,759,000 after acquiring an additional 78,415 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Dollar General by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,038,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,730,000 after acquiring an additional 152,429 shares during the period. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. bought a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter valued at about $757,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised Dollar General from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on Dollar General from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Dollar General from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of DG stock traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,557,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,021,551. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.29. Dollar General Corporation has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $117.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $110.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.69.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 7th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.70%.

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.