Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Dollar General (NYSE:DG)

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 30,969 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 31% compared to the typical volume of 23,569 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DG shares. Melius Research initiated coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.09.

Dollar General Trading Up 2.0 %

DG traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.21. 3,029,811 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,270,137. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.26. Dollar General has a 1-year low of $72.12 and a 1-year high of $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.44. 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 (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 1,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,397,284.90. The trade was a 2.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This 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 large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Dollar General by 30.6% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Dollar General by 1.2% during the second quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 9,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 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.