Bank of Nova Scotia Raises Stock Holdings in Dollar General Corporation $DG

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its Dollar General stake by 195.2% in the first quarter, ending with 113,404 shares worth about $13.46 million.
• Institutional ownership in Dollar General remains very high, with several other funds also increasing positions; 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Dollar General reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.00 versus the $1.89 estimate and raising FY2026 guidance to $7.20-$7.45 per share, even as analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 195.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,404 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,986 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.05% of Dollar General worth $13,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $363,299,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 416.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,525,608 shares of the company's stock worth $259,759,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,573 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Dollar General by 24,882.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,694,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687,533 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Dollar General by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,270,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $832,513,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 2,208.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,554,918 shares of the company's stock worth $184,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,554 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Dollar General from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Dollar General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.27.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG opened at $117.28 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $113.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Dollar General Corporation has a 12-month low of $95.11 and a 12-month high of $158.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.25.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.11. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The business had revenue of $10.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Dollar General has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.200-7.450 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Dollar General Corporation will post 7.38 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Dollar General's payout ratio is 33.38%.

Dollar General Profile

Dollar General Corporation is a U.S.-based variety and discount retailer operating a large network of small-format stores that serve primarily rural and suburban communities. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DG and is headquartered in the Nashville/Goodlettsville, Tennessee area. Founded in 1939, Dollar General has grown from a regional operation into one of the nation's prominent low-price retailers focused on convenience and value.

Dollar General's stores offer a wide assortment of everyday consumables and household goods, including food and beverage items, cleaning supplies, health and beauty products, paper goods, apparel basics, seasonal merchandise and small household items.

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