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

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. 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 purchased 110,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 539,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,851,076.25. This trade represents a 25.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on GO shares. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America downgraded Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Roth Capital upgraded Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.13.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the first quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the second quarter worth about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

Grocery Outlet Company Profile

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.