Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 2.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,262,540 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,568 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $166,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 12.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised 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 last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 4.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 14.8% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DG opened at $86.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.05. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $77.96 and a 52-week high of $168.07. The firm has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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 net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors 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 yield of 2.74%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is presently 34.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Dollar General from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.95.

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.