Point72 Asset Management L.P. Acquires 765,206 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 148.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,280,020 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 765,206 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $169,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,185,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,472,372,000 after buying an additional 11,257,537 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,071,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,408,514,000 after buying an additional 3,360,413 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,676,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,539,026,000 after buying an additional 2,273,119 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 1st quarter valued at $301,738,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in Dollar General during the 1st quarter valued at $87,081,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $250,187.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $208,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at $762,819.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Daiwa America downgraded Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.57.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE:DG opened at $85.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.67. The stock has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $77.96 and a 52 week high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. Dollar General’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.