HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 177,539 Shares of Dollar General Corporation $DG

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Dollar General Corporation by 393.2% in the 1st quarter, owning approximately $19.58 million worth of shares.
• Dollar General recently reported an EPS of $1.78 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.32.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59, representing an annualized yield of 2.1% with a payout ratio of 45.04%.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 393.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 222,688 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 177,539 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Dollar General worth $19,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Dollar General by 170.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 39.4% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Dollar General from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $120.00 target price on Dollar General in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.80.

Dollar General Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:DG traded up $2.3220 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $115.1020. The company had a trading volume of 1,043,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,748,295. Dollar General Corporation has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $126.98. The stock has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.31. The business's 50 day moving average price is $112.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.25 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.800 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of Dollar General 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 owned 46,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,261,619. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total value of $718,223.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.