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

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)’s stock 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 changing hands.

Specifically, Director Erik D. Ragatz bought 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.25 per share, for a total transaction of $2,007,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 539,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,851,076.25. The trade was a 25.59 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Grocery Outlet from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $25.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.00.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 4.3 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.13.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Grocery Outlet in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 99.87% of the stock is owned by 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.