Empirical Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Empirical Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,000. Dollar General accounts for approximately 2.1% of Empirical Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Dollar General by 117.7% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Dollar General by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett upgraded Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Daiwa America lowered Dollar General from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 1,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.83 per share, with a total value of $80,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,030 shares in the company, valued at $3,397,284.90. This trade represents a 2.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This trade represents a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Dollar General Stock Up 0.2 %

Dollar General stock opened at $79.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Dollar General Co. has a fifty-two week low of $72.12 and a fifty-two week high of $168.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.44.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 36.65%.

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.