HSBC Has Lowered Expectations for Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Stock Price

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at HSBC from $100.00 to $88.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. HSBC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.97% from the company’s previous close.

DG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America reduced 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Dollar General from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group downgraded Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.45.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG opened at $75.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.85 and a 200-day moving average of $110.18. The company 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Dollar General has a one year low of $73.51 and a one year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company’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 transaction of $208,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,819.75. This represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The trade was a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Dollar General during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 117.7% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.