Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Buys 12,469 Shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Key Points

• Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its investment in Dollar General by 53.1%, acquiring an additional 12,469 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $3.16 million.
• Several brokerages have raised price targets for Dollar General, with Raymond James increasing its target from $100 to $125 and Loop Capital setting a new price objective of $120.
• Dollar General recently reported earnings of $1.78 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, alongside a revenue growth of 5.3% year-over-year, totaling $10.44 billion.

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 53.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,944 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,469 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Dollar General were worth $3,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the first quarter worth approximately $280,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 4.2% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 27,567 shares of the company's stock worth $2,424,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 74.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 5,171 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Dollar General by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 107,306 shares of the company's stock worth $8,137,000 after acquiring an additional 16,453 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 48.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DG. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Dollar General from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Dollar General from a "reduce" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Dollar General from $93.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.40.

Dollar General Stock Up 2.2%

Dollar General stock opened at $113.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $110.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.27. Dollar General Corporation has a twelve month low of $66.43 and a twelve month high of $126.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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