Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 2,252 Shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,285 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,252 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $735,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $5,004,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Dollar General by 104.0% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 7,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth $246,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.72, for a total value of $76,628.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,596,951.04. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Melius raised shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.48.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG opened at $102.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.22. Dollar General Co. has a 1 year low of $66.43 and a 1 year high of $147.79.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $10.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 8th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.18%.

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.