National Bank of Canada FI Has $12.79 Million Stock Position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its holdings in Dollar General Corporation by 74.4% during the first quarter, selling 422,808 shares and retaining only 145,396 shares, valued at approximately $12.78 million.
• Dollar General recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.78 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations, with a revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, marking a 5.3% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, providing a yield of 2.1%, reflecting a payout ratio of 45.04%.

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its stake in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 74.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 145,396 shares of the company's stock after selling 422,808 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.07% of Dollar General worth $12,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DG. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Dollar General by 323.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,354,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,491,000 after buying an additional 1,797,776 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Dollar General by 5,440.2% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,155,000 after buying an additional 1,554,004 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Dollar General by 398.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,756,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,200,000 after buying an additional 1,404,200 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Dollar General by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,433,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,324,271,000 after buying an additional 1,201,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Dollar General by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,770,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,122,914,000 after buying an additional 1,003,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of Dollar General stock traded up $0.64 on Wednesday, reaching $115.83. 3,874,824 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,718,018. The firm's 50 day moving average is $112.08 and its 200-day moving average is $94.81. Dollar General Corporation has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $126.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $25.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.04%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $222,497.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,261,619. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $718,223.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,646 shares of the company's stock, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.80.

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.