UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at UBS Group from $95.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price points to a potential upside of 23.49% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on DG. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $120.00 price target on Dollar General in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Dollar General from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised Dollar General from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $101.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.96.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DG traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $97.17. 5,245,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,004,425. Dollar General has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $141.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.27. The company's 50-day moving average price is $92.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.39.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.17. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $10.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total value of $76,628.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,596,951.04. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 5,624.9% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 321,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,385,000 after purchasing an additional 316,005 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,534 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $502,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

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.