Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Short Interest Up 21.4% in August

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,220,000 shares, a growth of 21.4% from the August 15th total of 6,770,000 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DG shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research report on Friday, August 30th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Dollar General from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

Dollar General Stock Up 1.9 %

DG traded up $1.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $84.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,279,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,967,632. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.04. The company has a market capitalization of $18.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. Dollar General has a twelve month low of $77.96 and a twelve month high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its 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 return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Dollar General news, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,819.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 42,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,397,284.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,819.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Dollar General in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Company 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.