JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Price Target to $161.00

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $158.00 to $161.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on DG. Barclays raised Dollar General from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Dollar General from $147.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Dollar General from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Dollar General from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $153.08.

Dollar General Price Performance

Shares of Dollar General stock opened at $144.47 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.24 and a 200 day moving average of $133.78. Dollar General has a 12 month low of $101.09 and a 12 month high of $222.99. The firm has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 26.13% and a net margin of 4.29%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Dollar General will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total transaction of $958,617.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total value of $468,561.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total value of $958,617.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,636,371.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DG. First Manhattan Co. lifted its position in Dollar General by 447.4% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 104 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.