Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Purchased by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 72.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,299 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 3.5% during 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 lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 30.6% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its holdings in Dollar General by 3.8% during the second quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in Dollar General by 7.3% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Trading Down 1.5 %

Dollar General stock opened at $75.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.84. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $73.51 and a 52 week high of $168.07. The stock has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 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 firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.83 per share, for a total transaction of $80,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,397,284.90. This trade represents a 2.44 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Dollar General from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Gordon Haskett raised Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup cut shares of Dollar General from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.45.

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.