Evercore Lowers Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Price Target to $144.00

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) had its price objective cut by Evercore from $145.00 to $144.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. Evercore’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 4.99% from the stock’s current price.

DG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $127.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Dollar General from $165.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $113.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.81.

Dollar General Stock Down 1.0%

Dollar General stock opened at $151.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.17. Dollar General has a fifty-two week low of $72.52 and a fifty-two week high of $158.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $146.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.25.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $10.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.60 billion. Dollar General had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 3.03%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Anita C. Elliott sold 2,516 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.52, for a total value of $333,420.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 29,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,666.88. This represents a 7.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracey N. Herrmann sold 12,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.07, for a total value of $1,573,755.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,870,666.36. This represents a 28.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,673 shares of company stock valued at $7,713,389. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $363,299,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Dollar General by 416.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,525,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,759,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,573 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Dollar General by 24,882.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,694,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687,533 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Dollar General by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,270,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $832,513,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 116.0% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,714,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458,093 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Dollar General

Dollar General Corporation is a U.S.-based variety and discount retailer operating a large network of small-format stores that serve primarily rural and suburban communities. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DG and is headquartered in the Nashville/Goodlettsville, Tennessee area. Founded in 1939, Dollar General has grown from a regional operation into one of the nation’s prominent low-price retailers focused on convenience and value.

Dollar General’s stores offer a wide assortment of everyday consumables and household goods, including food and beverage items, cleaning supplies, health and beauty products, paper goods, apparel basics, seasonal merchandise and small household items.