Sowell Financial Services LLC Invests $280,000 in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DG. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 0.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 570 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total transaction of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares in the company, valued at $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen A. Reardon sold 6,438 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,646,027.76. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,216 shares of company stock worth $1,017,349 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on DG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $96.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Dollar General from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Dollar General from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $120.00 target price on Dollar General in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.04.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DG traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $111.47. 4,972,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,100,673. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Dollar General Corporation has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $135.46. The company's 50 day moving average price is $99.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.32. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.81%. The company had revenue of $10.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Dollar General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.