Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) Shares Purchased by Probity Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Probity Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Dollar General by 79% in Q1, owning a total of 6,266 shares valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Pzena Investment Management and Two Sigma Investments, have also significantly increased their holdings in Dollar General, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Dollar General's stock has recently seen various price target increases from analysts, with an average target price now at $108.40 and many analysts issuing a "hold" or "buy" rating.

Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 79.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,266 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Dollar General were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 989 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 0.5% during the first quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,548,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Dollar General by 39.4% during the 1st 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. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 37.6% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 674 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DG shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Dollar General from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.40.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,646,027.76. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 1,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $5,261,619. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of Dollar General stock traded up $2.39 on Wednesday, hitting $113.25. 2,858,822 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,647,912. Dollar General Corporation has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $126.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.13.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion for 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%. Dollar General's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 45.04%.

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.