Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,550,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the October 15th total of 6,080,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. This trade represents a 1.23 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Dollar General in the second quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 117.7% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Trading Down 0.7 %

DG traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $76.58. 371,337 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,187,165. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $73.51 and a 52-week high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DG shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. HSBC lowered their price target on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lowered shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

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.