Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)’s stock price was down 3.6% 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 analysts recently weighed in on GO shares. Craig Hallum cut their price target on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America downgraded Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $29.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Grocery Outlet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.25. 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’s fifty day moving average is $17.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.34.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Grocery Outlet

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Erik D. Ragatz acquired 110,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.25 per share, with a total value of $2,007,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 76.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the second quarter worth $82,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet during the third quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the second quarter valued at $217,000. 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.