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

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 217,411 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,440% compared to the average daily volume of 8,558 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tracey N. Herrmann sold 12,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.07, for a total value of $1,573,755.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,948 shares in the company, valued at $3,870,666.36. This represents a 28.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carman R. Wenkoff sold 19,166 shares of Dollar General stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.01, for a total value of $2,530,103.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,700,059.79. This represents a 30.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,673 shares of company stock valued at $7,713,389. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dollar General

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Dollar General by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,896,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,779,754,000 after purchasing an additional 78,854 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Dollar General by 9.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,963,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,065,000 after purchasing an additional 913,373 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Dollar General by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,811,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,599,000 after purchasing an additional 96,825 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Dollar General by 7.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,725,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,657,000 after purchasing an additional 188,949 shares during the period. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Dollar General by 26.7% in the second quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 2,666,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,037,000 after purchasing an additional 562,000 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Dollar General from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Dollar General from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Dollar General from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Dollar General from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.23.

Dollar General Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE DG traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $138.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,542,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,007,394. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Dollar General has a 1-year low of $66.43 and a 1-year high of $139.83. The company has a market capitalization of $30.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.25.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.33. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 18.59%. The company had revenue of $10.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Dollar General’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Dollar General has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.500 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Dollar General will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Dollar General Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. Dollar General’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.