Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Telsey Advisory Group downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. The stock had previously closed at $16.61, but opened at $15.79. Telsey Advisory Group now has a $19.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $27.00. Grocery Outlet shares last traded at $15.26, with a volume of 229,952 shares changing hands.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GO. Bank of America cut Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $27.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum cut shares of Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grocery Outlet

In other news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.83, for a total transaction of $1,883,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,335,762.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 200,095 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.29, for a total value of $3,259,547.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,580.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.83, for a total value of $1,883,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,335,762.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 500,095 shares of company stock worth $8,876,548. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 12 West Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 383.3% during the first quarter. 12 West Capital Management LP now owns 3,625,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,328,000 after buying an additional 2,875,000 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 281.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,579,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,016 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 677.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,981,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,832,000 after buying an additional 1,726,741 shares during the period. Solel Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the second quarter worth $35,980,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 889.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,010,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,359,000 after purchasing an additional 908,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 2.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.10.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 5.18%. Grocery Outlet’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates as a retailer of consumables and fresh products sold through independently operated stores in the United States. Its stores offer products in various categories, such as dairy and deli, produce, floral, fresh meat, seafood products, grocery, general merchandise, health and beauty care, frozen food, beer and wine, and ethnic products.