Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $17.86, but opened at $18.65. Grocery Outlet shares last traded at $17.92, with a volume of 371,755 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Erik D. Ragatz bought 110,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.25 per share, with a total value of $2,007,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 539,785 shares in the company, valued at $9,851,076.25. The trade was a 25.59 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital assumed 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, TD Cowen lowered Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Grocery Outlet presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 1.20%. Grocery Outlet’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 76.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Grocery Outlet during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.