Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 2,223 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,223 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $2,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Dollar General by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 3.3% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Dollar General by 3.5% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Dollar General by 4.3% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 14.8% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DG shares. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Dollar General from $139.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE DG opened at $80.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.18. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $77.96 and a 1-year high of $168.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $118.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.58.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is presently 34.35%.

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.