Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Downgraded to “Sell” at Citigroup

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) was downgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $73.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $91.00. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 16.03% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Dollar General from $155.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Dollar General from $130.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Argus dropped their target price on Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.48.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE:DG opened at $86.94 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General has a one year low of $77.96 and a one year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Dollar General will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,298,812. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 41,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,812. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,397,284.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.