Clearbridge Investments LLC Increases Position in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,158,059 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 272,285 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Grocery Outlet were worth $49,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GO. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 759,697 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in Grocery Outlet by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,395,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,776,000 after buying an additional 455,893 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Grocery Outlet by 357.7% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 519,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,118,000 after buying an additional 406,039 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1,224.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 300,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,271,000 after buying an additional 277,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 112.6% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 474,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,399,000 after acquiring an additional 251,000 shares during the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on GO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Grocery Outlet from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.25.

Grocery Outlet Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of GO stock opened at $13.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.36. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 52-week low of $10.26 and a 52-week high of $28.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.51 and its 200 day moving average is $16.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grocery Outlet

In other Grocery Outlet news, SVP Lindsay E. Gray sold 2,741 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.34, for a total transaction of $31,082.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,020.32. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven K. Wilson sold 6,477 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.34, for a total value of $73,449.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 173,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,968,680.70. This trade represents a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,435,050 and have sold 17,756 shares valued at $216,892. Insiders own 4.50% 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.