ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Holdings in Dollar General Corporation $DG

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Dollar General Corporation by 3.9%, now owning approximately 0.07% of the company valued at $16.64 million.
• Dollar General recently reported $1.86 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, and set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.800-6.300 EPS.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with a projected annual yield of 2.4%, highlighting a payout ratio of 43.70%.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,479 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,936 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.07% of Dollar General worth $16,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the first quarter worth about $280,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Dollar General by 4.2% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 27,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Dollar General by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 5,171 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Dollar General by 48.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Dollar General during the first quarter valued at approximately $879,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Performance

NYSE DG opened at $100.07 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $108.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.25. Dollar General Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $66.43 and a fifty-two week high of $117.95.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 2.86%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.800-6.300 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 7th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Dollar General's payout ratio is currently 43.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Dollar General from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Gordon Haskett reduced their price target on Dollar General from $130.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Dollar General from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.48.

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.

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