AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Dollar General Corporation $DG

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Dollar General Corporation by 46.0%, selling 85,494 shares and leaving them with 100,271 shares worth approximately $8.8 million.
• Dollar General reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.56, with revenues amounting to $10.73 billion, a 5.1% year-over-year increase.
• Dollar General declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing a 2.2% yield and a payout ratio of 43.70%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 46.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,271 shares of the company's stock after selling 85,494 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Dollar General were worth $8,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 66.7% in the first quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 170.1% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 39.4% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 384.3% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 615 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Dollar General to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group set a $123.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.92.

Dollar General Stock Down 1.0%

Dollar General stock traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $104.32. 2,557,185 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,056,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.25. Dollar General Corporation has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $117.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.32. The company has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Dollar General 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.