Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 22,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,679,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 27.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 44,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,925,000 after acquiring an additional 9,757 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Dollar General by 11.7% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 21,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Dollar General by 66.8% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 7,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Dollar General by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 29,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,918,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Dollar General in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Dollar General from $97.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on Dollar General from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.18.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

In other news, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of DG opened at $68.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $75.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.85. Dollar General Co. has a 52 week low of $66.43 and a 52 week high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.88%.

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.