Jackson Square Partners LLC Sells 671,876 Shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)

Key Points

• Jackson Square Partners LLC reduced its stake in Grocery Outlet by 31.8% in the first quarter, now holding 1,440,220 shares, making it the 17th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Grocery Outlet received several analyst upgrades, with Wells Fargo raising its price target from $18.00 to $19.00 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Grocery Outlet's stock has increased by 42.7%, currently trading at $18.58, with a reported quarterly earnings per share of $0.23, outperforming analyst expectations.

Jackson Square Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Free Report) by 31.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,440,220 shares of the company's stock after selling 671,876 shares during the period. Grocery Outlet comprises about 2.7% of Jackson Square Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Jackson Square Partners LLC owned about 1.47% of Grocery Outlet worth $20,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 19,702 shares of the company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 736,179 shares of the company's stock worth $11,492,000 after buying an additional 152,572 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 276.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,036 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 834,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,025,000 after buying an additional 83,043 shares during the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:GO traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.54. 5,619,094 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,697,051. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 264.89, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.27. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.26 and a fifty-two week high of $21.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $14.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Grocery Outlet from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Craig Hallum upgraded Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Grocery Outlet currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.08.

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.