AM Squared Ltd Invests $159,000 in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,000. Dollar General comprises 0.4% of AM Squared Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Dollar General by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Dollar General during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE DG traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $82.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,069,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,216,203. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $82.68 and a 52 week high of $168.07. The company has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.08.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Dollar General’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

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 $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 34.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Argus cut their target price on Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded shares of Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $103.00 in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.48.

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.