Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG)

The financial ratios exhibit several notable trends over the analyzed quarterly periods. Initially, the Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio demonstrates some volatility but generally fluctuates within a range between approximately 14 and 24, with a peak observed around late 2019. After reaching a relative peak, it declines steadily in the most recent quarters, indicating a possible market reassessment of earnings expectations.

The Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) ratio shows a pattern somewhat similar to the P/E ratio, with values oscillating between roughly 8.7 and 18.5 over time. The ratio peaked around late 2019 to early 2020 and then experienced a consistent downward trend towards the latest dates, suggesting a reduction in market valuation relative to operating profits.

Regarding the Price to Sales (P/S) ratio, the data indicates an initial gradual increase reaching highs around 1.6 in late 2019 and early 2021. Subsequently, the P/S ratio declines markedly, falling below 0.5 in the most recent quarters. This decline suggests a decreasing market valuation relative to sales, potentially reflecting market concerns about sales growth or profitability margins.

Finally, the Price to Book Value (P/BV) ratio starts from approximately 3.75 in early observations and exhibits an upward trend, peaking near 8.97 during mid-2022. This trend reflects growing market valuation in relation to the company's book value during that period. However, a sharp decline follows, bringing the ratio down to around 2.55 by the latest quarter. Such a decrease may indicate a reduced investor confidence in the company's net asset value or changes in asset valuation assumptions.

In summary, all four valuation multiples show peaks in the period around late 2019 to mid-2022, followed by a marked decline thereafter. This overall movement suggests that market valuation metrics have contracted in recent quarters, possibly reflecting changes in earnings prospects, operational efficiency, sales performance, and asset valuation.

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

Peaked near 24.63 in late 2019, then gradually declined to around 13.05 by mid-2024, indicating reduced market expectations on earnings recovery or growth.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

Rose to about 18.49 at the end of 2019 before trending downward to approximately 8.76 most recently, highlighting a diminished premium on operating profit.

Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio

Climbed to nearly 1.62 in early 2021, but declined steeply to 0.47 by mid-2024, signifying lowered market valuation relative to revenue.

Price to Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

Increased from 3.75 in early 2018 to 8.97 in mid-2022, then declined significantly to 2.55, suggesting revaluation of company assets or investor sentiment shifts.

The share price exhibited an overall upward trend from May 2018 through early 2022, increasing from $87.48 to a peak around $246.08 in mid-2022. This growth phase included some fluctuations, particularly notable declines starting from late 2022 through mid-2024, where the price dropped to a low of $84.03 by August 2024. The period between early 2023 and mid-2024 shows a marked downward trend, reflecting a significant correction or market response.

Earnings per share (EPS) data, available from February 2019 onward, show steady growth during the early periods, rising from 6.12 to a high of approximately 11.36 by mid-2021. After this peak, EPS values exhibit a gradual decline, falling to 6.44 by August 2024. This decrease in EPS aligns temporally with the decline observed in the share price, suggesting a potential relationship between company profitability and market valuation in this timeframe.

The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio demonstrates variability throughout the available periods. Initial P/E ratios ranged from approximately 16.92 to 24.63 between 2019 and 2022, indicating some fluctuations in how the market valued earnings. Starting in 2023, the P/E ratio declined moderately before rising again slightly in certain quarters but never reaching the previous highs seen in earlier years. By August 2024, the P/E ratio reduced to approximately 13.05, indicating a lower market valuation relative to earnings at that point.

Share Price Analysis

Strong growth until mid-2022, followed by a sustained decline through mid-2024.

Earnings Per Share (EPS)

Gradual increase from 2019 to mid-2021, with a subsequent downward trend aligning with the share price drop.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio

Moderate fluctuations with generally elevated levels until 2022; lowering and more variable afterward, reaching a significant low by mid-2024.

In summary, the financial data reflects a period of strong performance and market confidence up to mid-2022, followed by a phase of declining earnings and share price. The declining P/E ratio towards the end of the analyzed timeframe suggests a reduced market premium on the company’s earnings, likely influenced by the decreasing EPS and market conditions during that period.

Share Price Trends

The share price exhibited a general upward trend from May 2018 to October 2022, rising from $87.48 to a peak of $246.08. There are notable fluctuations within this period, with some quarters showing declines (e.g., from January 2020 to January 2021). Post-October 2022, the share price shows a marked downward trend, decreasing steadily to $84.03 by August 2024, reflecting a significant contraction in market valuation in the most recent periods.

Operating Profit per Share

Operating profit per share started to be available from the quarter ending February 2019, showing a steady increase from $8.15 to peak near $15.23 in mid-2021. After this peak, the operating profit per share began a gradual decline, falling to $9.59 by August 2024. This indicates a reduction in operating profitability on a per-share basis in recent years, following a period of sustained growth.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

The P/OP ratio began at 14.41 in early 2019, displaying volatility through the years mostly ranging between 10 and 18. The ratio reached the lowest value of 8.76 by August 2024. During the period when operating profit per share was rising (2019 to mid-2021), the P/OP ratio fluctuated but generally remained above 12, suggesting that the share price generally kept pace with the growth in earnings. The recent decline in the ratio aligns with the falling share price and operating profit per share, indicating markets are valuing the earnings decline more conservatively.

Overall Insights

The data reflect a cycle where the company experienced growth in operating profits and share price through 2018 to early 2022, followed by a period of decline in both profitability and market valuation starting in late 2022. The share price and operating profit per share both peaked and then fell, with the P/OP ratio decreasing to historically low levels. This trend suggests a possible market reassessment of the company's future earnings prospects or increased risk factors impacting valuation. The correlation between declining operating profits and share price points to fundamental challenges affecting profitability.

The share price exhibited a general upward trend from May 2018 to October 2022, increasing from $87.48 to a peak of $246.08. During this period, several fluctuations were observed, including notable dips around January 2020 and January 2021, followed by subsequent recoveries. After October 2022, the share price showed a pronounced decline, reaching $84.03 by August 2024, the lowest point in the dataset.

Sales per share data, available from February 2019 onward, showed a consistent upward trend throughout the observed periods. Starting at $98.74, sales per share gradually increased to $180.42 by August 2024. This steady growth suggests improving revenue generated per share over time with no evident periods of decline.

The price-to-sales (P/S) ratio featured considerable variability. From February 2019, the P/S ratio generally remained above 1.0 until early 2023, indicating that the share price was consistently valued at or above sales per share multiples. Peaks occurred around November 2019 and October 2020 at 1.6 and 1.62 respectively. However, from February 2023 onward, the P/S ratio declined sharply, dropping below 1.0, reaching as low as 0.47 by August 2024. This decline suggests that the market valuation of the company's shares decreased relative to its sales per share, potentially reflecting lowered market confidence or expectations.

In summary, the share price initially appreciated significantly alongside steady sales growth, but both metrics diverged after late 2022, with the share price falling sharply despite continued increases in sales per share. The declining P/S ratio in recent periods underscores this divergence, indicating a decreased market valuation relative to sales. This pattern may highlight emerging concerns from investors or external market factors impacting stock valuation independently of revenue performance.

Share Price

Uptrended from $87.48 (May 2018) to $246.08 (Oct 2022), then declined to $84.03 (Aug 2024).

Sales per Share

Consistently increased from $98.74 (Feb 2019) to $180.42 (Aug 2024) with no significant decreases.

Price-to-Sales Ratio

Maintained above 1.0 until early 2023, peaked around 1.6, then declined sharply to 0.47 by August 2024.

The analyzed data reveals several notable trends concerning the share price, book value per share (BVPS), and price-to-book value (P/BV) ratio over the given time periods.

Share Price

The share price exhibits an upward trend from May 2018, starting at $87.48 and increasing steadily to a peak of $246.08 in July 2022. Thereafter, a notable decline occurs, with the share price falling to $84.03 by August 2024. This pattern suggests a strong growth phase for approximately four years, followed by a period of considerable depreciation in market valuation.

Book Value per Share (BVPS)

The BVPS shows a more moderate but consistent upward trajectory throughout the period. Beginning at $23.31 in May 2018, it reaches $33.01 by August 2024. Minor fluctuations are observed, but the general trend remains positive, indicating steady growth in the company's net asset value per share over time.

Price-to-Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The P/BV ratio follows the share price trend closely, beginning at 3.75 in May 2018 and climbing to a high of 8.97 by July 2022. Following this peak, the ratio declines sharply to 2.55 by August 2024. This indicates that while the company's book value has increased steadily, market valuation relative to book value became increasingly inflated until mid-2022, after which market sentiment or valuation metrics adjusted downward significantly. The decreasing P/BV ratio in the final periods reflects either a revaluation of the shares or a market correction.

In summary, the company experienced significant share price appreciation accompanied by steady growth in book value per share between 2018 and mid-2022. However, subsequent declines in share price and P/BV ratio suggest diminished investor confidence or changes in market conditions, despite continued moderate increases in underlying book value.