Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Down 3.6% – Here’s What Happened

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)’s stock price was down 3.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $15.65 and last traded at $15.71. Approximately 180,188 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 807,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital started coverage on Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Grocery Outlet from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Grocery Outlet Stock Down 3.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.25.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 1.20%. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 bought 110,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.25 per share, with a total value of $2,007,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 539,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,851,076.25. The trade was a 25.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 677.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,981,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726,741 shares during the last quarter. Solel Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 2nd quarter worth $35,980,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 889.9% during 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. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 159.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,235,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,676,000 after buying an additional 759,697 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1,891.8% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 743,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,437,000 after buying an additional 705,762 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.