Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) Shares Purchased by Scotia Capital Inc.

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Dollar General Corporation by 60.2% in Q1, now holding 22,798 shares valued at $2.01 million.
• Dollar General reported $1.78 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $10.44 billion, marking a 5.3% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59, translating to an annual yield of 2.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 45.04%.

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 60.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,798 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,563 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Dollar General by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 270,005 shares of the company's stock worth $20,472,000 after buying an additional 3,812 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter valued at $606,000. Prudential PLC boosted its position in Dollar General by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 10,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth $4,827,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Dollar General from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Dollar General in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Dollar General from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Sixteen investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.40.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE DG traded up $2.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 247,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,798,706. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.31. The company's 50-day moving average is $111.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Dollar General Corporation has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $126.98.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Dollar General had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,646,027.76. This represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $222,497.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,261,619. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is 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.