Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Dollar General by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,711,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,297,067,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457,393 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,346,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,278,000 after buying an additional 62,913 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,106,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,884,000 after buying an additional 1,043,141 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,572,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,394,000 after buying an additional 481,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 78.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,426,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,904,000 after buying an additional 627,844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on DG. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Dollar General from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.08.

Dollar General Stock Performance

DG opened at $142.73 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.07. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $101.09 and a 1-year high of $222.99. The company has a market cap of $31.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 31.22%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 5,909 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.23, for a total transaction of $958,617.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,579 shares in the company, valued at $4,636,371.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ralph Santana sold 3,009 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $468,561.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,778.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General 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.