Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Trading Up 4.2% – Time to Buy?

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)’s share price was up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $15.78 and last traded at $15.68. Approximately 327,562 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,816,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GO shares. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital started coverage on Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lowered shares of Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.71 and a 200-day moving average of $18.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.25.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Erik D. Ragatz acquired 110,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.25 per share, for a total transaction of $2,007,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 539,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,851,076.25. This trade represents a 25.59 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GO. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the 2nd quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet in the 3rd quarter valued at $181,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

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.