Dollar General (NYSE:DG) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $178.00. The company traded as high as $156.28 and last traded at $156.1670, with a volume of 465490 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.96.

DG has been the topic of several other reports. Guggenheim upped their target price on Dollar General from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Dollar General in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $112.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Dollar General in a report on Friday, December 5th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Dollar General has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dollar General

In other Dollar General news, EVP Bryan D. Wheeler sold 9,776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.32, for a total value of $1,322,888.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,016,959.40. This represents a 30.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 19,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.01, for a total value of $2,530,103.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,700,059.79. This represents a 30.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 58,673 shares of company stock worth $7,713,389 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Dollar General News

Here are the key news stories impacting Dollar General this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifting price targets — Jefferies raised its DG target to $178 (from $165), signaling more upside and reinforcing buy-side sentiment following the company’s recent results. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Additional analyst upgrade momentum — Guggenheim recently raised its price target to $165 (from $140) and other outlets highlight DG as a turnaround candidate, supporting conviction that top-line acceleration could be sustainable. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Independent bullish forecast — Oppenheimer published a forecast calling for strong price appreciation for Dollar General, adding to the buy-side thesis and potentially driving demand from institutional investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds / inclusion on “watch” lists — Coverage pieces from Yahoo Finance and Zacks highlight DG among discount-retail names poised to benefit from pricing, inventory management and operational initiatives, which can attract momentum investors and ETFs focused on the space. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Local growth: new store opening planned — A planned spring opening for a Tyrone DG Market signals ongoing unit growth at the local level, supporting the company’s reach into underserved markets. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary & tools referenced — Multiple Zacks/Yahoo pieces reference DG when demonstrating their Earnings ESP and stock-screening tools; these are broader market/coverage notes rather than company-specific operational news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated industry fundraising news — A fully subscribed ExchangeRight REIT product indicates investor appetite for real-estate strategies but has no direct impact on DG fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Intraday pullback — Despite the analyst upgrades and positive coverage, DG is trading lower today, indicating profit-taking or short-term rotation that could cap near-term upside until volume or follow‑through confirms the trend. (No article)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tempo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Dollar General during the 4th quarter worth $281,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Dollar General during the fourth quarter worth about $226,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth about $411,000. Blue Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Dollar General in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Dean Capital Management increased its stake in Dollar General by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 23,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,056,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dollar General Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.12.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $10.65 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Dollar General Corporation will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.76%.

About Dollar General

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.