Loop Capital Begins Coverage on Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO)

Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock.

GO has been the topic of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $32.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Grocery Outlet presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.60.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Grocery Outlet stock opened at $17.36 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.68. Grocery Outlet has a twelve month low of $15.18 and a twelve month high of $29.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.05. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Grocery Outlet’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $1,890,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,340,728.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 200,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.29, for a total transaction of $3,259,547.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,580.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $1,890,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,340,728.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 500,095 shares of company stock worth $8,876,548 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GO. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 24,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 76.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1.2% in the first quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 73,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in Grocery Outlet by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 86,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. 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.