Baupost Group LLC MA Makes New $194.83 Million Investment in Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG)

Baupost Group LLC MA bought a new position in shares of Dollar General Co. (NYSE:DG) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,303,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,832,000. Dollar General makes up 5.5% of Baupost Group LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kize Capital LP raised its holdings in Dollar General by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kize Capital LP now owns 84,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,104,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Kiltearn Partners LLP raised its holdings in Dollar General by 382.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 350,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,605,000 after buying an additional 277,566 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 710.7% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 25,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 22,217 shares during the last quarter. M.D. Sass LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dollar General by 4.3% in the third quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 303,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,634,000 after purchasing an additional 12,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Dollar General in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,676,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dollar General Trading Down 2.5 %

DG stock opened at $74.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.87. Dollar General Co. has a one year low of $72.12 and a one year high of $168.07. The stock has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Dollar General had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Dollar General Co. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven R. Deckard sold 2,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $174,186.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,187.42. This represents a 41.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Warren F. Bryant acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.40 per share, for a total transaction of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,812. The trade was a 1.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $98.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $169.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Dollar General from $101.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Dollar General Profile

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.