Moors & Cabot Inc. Purchases 5,275 Shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Dollar General by 191.1%, purchasing an additional 5,275 shares, bringing its total holdings to 8,036 shares valued at approximately $707,000.
• Dollar General's earnings report showed $1.78 EPS for the quarter, surpassing expectations of $1.46, with revenues of $10.44 billion, beating estimates of $10.25 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.2% based on its current payout ratio of 45.04%.

Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 191.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,036 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Dollar General were worth $707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 8.5% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,770,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,122,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,206 shares in the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 3.9% in the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 4,197,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $369,081,000 after acquiring an additional 155,966 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,380,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,310,000 after acquiring an additional 821,608 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 323.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,354,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,023,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,451,000 after acquiring an additional 201,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on DG shares. Melius raised Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $120.00 price objective on Dollar General in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Dollar General from a "reduce" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.40.

Dollar General Stock Up 3.5%

NYSE DG opened at $108.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $23.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.31. Dollar General Corporation has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $126.98. The stock's 50 day moving average is $110.15 and its 200 day moving average is $92.71. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.25 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In related news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,646,027.76. The trade was a 13.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Company 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.

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