Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $155.00 and last traded at $152.8110, with a volume of 130622 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $153.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Dollar General from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Dollar General from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Dollar General from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.44.

Dollar General Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $33.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.52.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $10.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 18.59%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 40.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Anita C. Elliott sold 2,516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.52, for a total value of $333,420.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 29,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,888,666.88. This represents a 7.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roderick J. West sold 2,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.35, for a total value of $304,304.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,108 shares in the company, valued at $4,815,001.80. This represents a 5.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 58,673 shares of company stock valued at $7,713,389 over the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DG. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 618.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 200,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,638,000 after acquiring an additional 172,717 shares in the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Dollar General by 63.4% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 60,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,971,000 after buying an additional 23,302 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 864,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,971,000 after purchasing an additional 116,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General in the fourth quarter valued at about $347,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.