Cetera Investment Advisers Takes Position in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers purchased 168,007 shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO), valued at approximately $2,349,000, during the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Pictet Asset Management and Russell Investments Group, have increased their stakes in Grocery Outlet, with 99.87% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.08, while recent reports indicate increasing target prices from brokerages.

Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 168,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,349,000. Cetera Investment Advisers owned about 0.17% of Grocery Outlet as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the first quarter valued at approximately $881,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 49.4% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 131,983 shares of the company's stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 43,633 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Grocery Outlet in the first quarter worth approximately $165,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 2.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 482,178 shares of the company's stock worth $6,741,000 after purchasing an additional 11,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Grocery Outlet in the first quarter worth approximately $199,000. Institutional investors own 99.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Grocery Outlet

In other Grocery Outlet news, EVP Steven K. Wilson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 146,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,820,921.60. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of GO traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.38. 402,463 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,276,752. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 1 year low of $10.26 and a 1 year high of $21.67. The firm's fifty day moving average is $13.76 and its 200-day moving average is $14.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 261.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.27.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 0.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GO. Morgan Stanley upgraded Grocery Outlet from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Craig Hallum upgraded Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Grocery Outlet from $14.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.08.

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.