Dollar General Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.59 (NYSE:DG)

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 28th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.59 per share on Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th.

Dollar General has raised its dividend by an average of 8.1% annually over the last three years. Dollar General has a dividend payout ratio of 37.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Dollar General to earn $6.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.0%.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG opened at $84.35 on Monday. Dollar General has a 12 month low of $77.96 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.65.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $139.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Gordon Haskett cut Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Argus dropped their target price on Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.48.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,397,284.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.