Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,111 shares of the company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Dollar General were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in shares of Dollar General by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 37,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 9,402 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 8,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,128 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its position in Dollar General by 852.1% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 184,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,011,000 after purchasing an additional 165,379 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Dollar General by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,993 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Dollar General by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,563,000 after buying an additional 8,317 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Stock Performance

NYSE:DG opened at $76.68 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Dollar General Co. has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $168.07.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.88%.

Insider Transactions at Dollar General

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DG shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.77.

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.