Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $115.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.03% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Melius raised Dollar General from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Dollar General from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Dollar General from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Dollar General from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.04.

Dollar General Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of DG stock traded up $2.06 on Wednesday, hitting $113.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,534,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,070,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.26. Dollar General has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $135.46. The company's 50 day moving average price is $93.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.03.

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. The firm had revenue of $10.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.25 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total value of $76,628.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,596,951.04. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 279.8% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 490 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.