Short Interest in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Drops By 14.6%

Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,040,000 shares, a decrease of 14.6% from the January 31st total of 12,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Dollar General Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DG traded up $5.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.27. 3,534,807 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,433,401. The company has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.44. Dollar General has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $168.07. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.21 and a 200 day moving average of $80.20.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). Dollar General had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DG shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Dollar General from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Dollar General from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Dollar General presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $367,065.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,128. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total value of $451,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 120,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,056,636.94. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dollar General

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DG. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its stake in Dollar General by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 28,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. purchased a new position in shares of Dollar General during the third quarter worth approximately $5,650,000. Leibman Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,018,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 166,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,087,000 after purchasing an additional 64,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 5,624.9% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 321,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,385,000 after purchasing an additional 316,005 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

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.