Citigroup Inc. Trims Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151,243 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $16,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DG. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Dollar General during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $250,187.42. This trade represents a 41.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $208,957.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Trading Up 2.1 %

Dollar General stock opened at $76.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45. Dollar General Co. has a 12 month low of $72.12 and a 12 month high of $168.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.65. 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 quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on DG. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $118.00 to $95.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

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.