New York State Common Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Free Report) by 49.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,983 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,633 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Grocery Outlet worth $1,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,079,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 472.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 4,040 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter valued at about $240,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter valued at about $326,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 19,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.46 per share, for a total transaction of $274,740.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $274,740. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GO traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.88. 1,263,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,215,632. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 86.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.42 and a 200 day moving average of $14.31. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 52-week low of $10.26 and a 52-week high of $21.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on GO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $14.50 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.62.

Grocery Outlet 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.