Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook: Grocery Outlet has a consensus “Reduce” rating from 14 brokerages, including two sells and 12 holds, with an average 12-month price target of $10.59 versus the reported $11.30 share price.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.20 per share versus the $0.13 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.19 billion, up 1.1% year over year.
• Insiders and institutions have been active buyers: Two insiders purchased shares, while BlackRock initiated a $152.4 million position; institutional investors collectively own 99.87% of Grocery Outlet.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and twelve have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.59.

Several research firms have recently commented on GO. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, August 13th.

Insider Transactions at Grocery Outlet

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Carey F. Jaros purchased 15,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.70 per share, with a total value of $175,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 60,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $702,000. This represents a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Miller purchased 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $87,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 72,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $786,663.90. This represents a 12.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 2nd quarter worth $152,440,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,816,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 173,308 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 31.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,083,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,639,000 after purchasing an additional 258,292 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 146.3% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 682,650 shares of the company's stock worth $6,895,000 after buying an additional 405,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 262.2% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 645,159 shares of the company's stock worth $6,516,000 after buying an additional 467,019 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.87% of the company's stock.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GO opened at $11.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.92, a P/E/G ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 0.72. Grocery Outlet has a 52-week low of $5.66 and a 52-week high of $16.99. The business's 50-day moving average price is $10.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.07. Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.84% and a negative net margin of 8.04%.The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates a network of independently operated, extreme-value grocery stores in the United States. The company offers a rotating selection of branded and private-label products at discounted prices, including groceries, fresh produce, meat, dairy, frozen foods, beverages, snacks, household goods and health and beauty products.

Its merchandising model is based on opportunistic buying, allowing Grocery Outlet to purchase surplus inventory, packaging changes, discontinued products and other bargains from manufacturers and distributors.

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