Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) Shares Bought by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 453.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,238,886 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,388,735 shares during the period. Dollar General comprises 2.8% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 4.66% of Dollar General worth $865,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DG. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Dollar General in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Dollar General by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Dollar General during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Stock Performance

NYSE DG traded down $3.68 on Wednesday, reaching $72.82. 2,740,128 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,191,414. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. Dollar General Co. has a one year low of $72.49 and a one year high of $168.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Dollar General had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.57%. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Dollar General Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Dollar General in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Dollar General from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $168.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Dollar General from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Dollar General from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, Director Warren F. Bryant bought 500 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,298,812. This represents a 1.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. The trade was a 41.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.