Investors Buy Large Volume of Dollar General Call Options (NYSE:DG)

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 217,411 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,440% compared to the average daily volume of 8,558 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In related news, EVP Rhonda Taylor sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.89, for a total value of $1,011,675.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 73,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,913,335.88. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tracey N. Herrmann sold 12,583 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.07, for a total transaction of $1,573,755.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,870,666.36. This trade represents a 28.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,673 shares of company stock worth $7,713,389. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dollar General in the second quarter worth $101,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,817,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,067,403,000 after purchasing an additional 384,447 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 483.1% during the second quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 25,377 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Dollar General by 1.6% in the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 155,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Dollar General by 228.3% in the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 34,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,963,000 after purchasing an additional 24,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Dollar General from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Dollar General from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dollar General currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Dollar General Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of DG stock opened at $144.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Dollar General has a one year low of $66.43 and a one year high of $146.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $117.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.68. The company has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

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

Dollar General Company Profile

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.