Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Boosts Stake in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its position in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,679 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Dollar General were worth $810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Dollar General by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 82,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,224,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Dollar General by 3,727.5% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 5,144 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at about $324,000. PUREfi Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its position in Dollar General by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 125,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,494,000 after acquiring an additional 42,628 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Price Performance

DG stock opened at $72.57 on Monday. Dollar General Co. has a 52-week low of $66.43 and a 52-week high of $168.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Dollar General Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 7th. Dollar General’s payout ratio is currently 38.88%.

Insider Activity at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Emily C. Taylor sold 4,740 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total value of $367,065.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,128. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael M. Calbert sold 6,000 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction 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 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Dollar General from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Dollar General from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Dollar General from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Dollar General from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut Dollar General from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Dollar General currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.77.

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.