Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to Strong Sell

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Dollar General (NYSE:DG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on DG. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Dollar General from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Dollar General from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Dollar General in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.14.

Dollar General Price Performance

NYSE DG traded down $0.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $104.19. 2,375,055 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,569,086. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $102.47 and its 200-day moving average is $105.70. The company has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $117.95.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.30. Dollar General had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 17.97%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.800-6.300 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Dollar General will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 7th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 43.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dollar General

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DG. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Dollar General by 26.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 92,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,556,000 after purchasing an additional 19,546 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 266.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 53,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,568,000 after buying an additional 39,168 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 416.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,525,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,759,000 after buying an additional 2,036,573 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 3rd quarter worth $7,695,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Dollar General by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 748,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,319,000 after buying an additional 11,403 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.