Values First Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 6,336 Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 200.4% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 850 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG opened at $73.83 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.02. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $66.43 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43.

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). The business had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.77.

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.