Irenic Capital Management LP Has $17.76 Million Stake in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. $GO

Key Points

• Irenic Capital cut its stake in Grocery Outlet by 28.9% in Q3 to 1,106,789 shares worth about $17.76 million, representing ~1.13% of the company and 1.9% of Irenic’s portfolio (its 14th largest holding).
• Analysts have been trimming forecasts and ratings on Grocery Outlet, with several price-target cuts and a MarketBeat consensus of “Reduce” and a $10.68 consensus target price.
• Insiders were net buyers last quarter (301,000 shares purchased vs. 81,347 sold, now owning 4.5%), even as the company missed Q earnings (EPS $0.19 vs. $0.21 est.), posted a -4.8% net margin but 10.7% revenue growth, and set FY26 EPS guidance of 0.45–0.55.

Irenic Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,106,789 shares of the company's stock after selling 450,866 shares during the quarter. Grocery Outlet makes up 1.9% of Irenic Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Irenic Capital Management LP owned approximately 1.13% of Grocery Outlet worth $17,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the third quarter worth $2,696,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,835,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 178.5% in the 2nd quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. now owns 227,101 shares of the company's stock worth $2,821,000 after acquiring an additional 145,554 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its position in Grocery Outlet by 165.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 315,898 shares of the company's stock worth $5,070,000 after acquiring an additional 196,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet during the 3rd quarter worth $4,448,000. Institutional investors own 99.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Grocery Outlet from $10.50 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $11.00 target price on Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $7.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 5.3%

GO opened at $6.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $628.16 million, a P/E ratio of -2.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $9.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.11. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $5.66 and a fifty-two week high of $19.41.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.02). Grocery Outlet had a negative net margin of 4.80% and a positive return on equity of 5.93%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John E. Bachman acquired 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.46 per share, with a total value of $103,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 73,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $473,950.82. This trade represents a 27.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carey F. Jaros acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $250,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 76,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $476,173.16. This trade represents a 110.91% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 301,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,160 and have sold 81,347 shares valued at $475,066. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Grocery Outlet Company Profile

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. NASDAQ: GO is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company's unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.

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