Stock analysts expect Dollar General Co. (NYSE: DG) to report earnings of $ 2.02 per share for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Twenty-three analysts made estimates for Dollar General’s earnings, with the highest EPS estimate at $ 2.23 and the lowest estimate at $ 1.69. Dollar General reported earnings per share of $ 2.31 in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a negative year-over-year growth rate of 12.6%. The company is expected to release its next quarterly earnings report on Thursday, December 2.

On average, analysts expect Dollar General to report annual earnings of $ 10.19 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $ 9.50 to $ 10.50. For next year, analysts predict the company will post earnings of $ 11.18 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $ 9.25 to $ 11.73. Zacks Investment Research EPS averages are an average based on a survey of seller-side research analysts who track Dollar General.

Dollar General (NYSE: DG) last released its results on Wednesday, August 25. The company reported earnings per share of $ 2.69 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $ 2.59 by $ 0.10. Dollar General had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 38.90%. The company posted revenue of $ 8.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ estimates of $ 8.59 billion. During the same period of the previous year, the company reported earnings per share of $ 3.12. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 0.4% from the same quarter last year.

Several brokerage houses weighed on DG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its price target for Dollar General shares from $ 231.00 to $ 253.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 23. OTR Global downgraded Dollar General shares to a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday August 17th. Telsey Advisory Group increased its price target on Dollar General shares from $ 235.00 to $ 260.00 and gave the company an “outperformance” rating in a research report published on Tuesday, August 24. Oppenheimer increased its price target for Dollar General shares from $ 225.00 to $ 270.00 and gave the company an “outperformance” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 15. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded Dollar General shares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a target price of $ 239.00 for the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 31. One equity research analyst rated the stock with a sell rating, three assigned a conservation rating, seventeen issued a buy rating, and one assigned a high buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $ 244.41.

Hedge funds have recently changed their positions in the company. Capital Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in Dollar General by 15,492.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital Bank & Trust Co now owns 150,314 shares of the company valued at $ 30,457,000 after acquiring an additional 149,350 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in Dollar General by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,271 shares of the company valued at $ 2,689,000 after acquiring 4,114 more shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Dollar General by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 107,633 shares of the company valued at $ 21,809,000 after acquiring an additional 14,997 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Dollar General by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 48,340 shares of the company valued at $ 10,460,000 after acquiring an additional 5,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PRW Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Dollar General shares in the second quarter valued at approximately $ 1,055,000. 89.25% of the capital is held by institutional investors.

DG lost $ 0.65 on Friday, hitting $ 217.71. 1,135,325 shares of the company were traded, for an average volume of 2,056,010. The company has a leverage ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty-day moving average is $ 227.65 and its 200-day moving average is $ 215.20. Dollar General has a minimum of $ 173.50 over 52 weeks and a maximum of $ 239.35 over 52 weeks. The company has a market cap of $ 50.79 billion, a price / earnings ratio of 20.85, a price / earnings-growth ratio of 1.89, and a beta of 0.50.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 19. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 5 will receive a dividend of $ 0.42 per share. This represents a dividend of $ 1.68 on an annualized basis and a return of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday October 4. Dollar General’s payout ratio is 15.82%.

About Dollar General

Dollar General Corp. operates merchandise stores. Its offerings include food, snacks, health and beauty products, cleaning supplies, basic clothing, housewares and seasonal items. It sells brands such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestlé, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills and PepsiCo. The company was founded by J.

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