Pier Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. $GO

Key Points

• Pier Capital LLC acquired a new stake of 183,075 shares (~$2.94M), raising its ownership to about 0.19% as part of heavy institutional accumulation that leaves roughly 99.87% of the stock held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Multiple directors made sizable insider purchases—most notably Erik D. Ragatz's 125,000 shares at about $6—totaling 301,000 insider buys over the past 90 days and signaling management confidence despite some senior‑executive sales.
• Grocery Outlet slightly missed Q4 EPS/revenue and set FY‑2026 guidance of $0.45–$0.55, prompting several analyst downgrades (consensus rating: Reduce, average target ~$10.68), while securities‑law probes and recent store closures heighten legal and operational risk.

Pier Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 183,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,938,000. Pier Capital LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Grocery Outlet as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Grocery Outlet by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,390,051 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,688,000 after purchasing an additional 702,807 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet during the second quarter worth $7,674,000. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 16.9% during the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 3,757,022 shares of the company's stock worth $60,300,000 after buying an additional 543,535 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 375.2% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 669,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,311,000 after buying an additional 528,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 53.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,453,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,328,000 after buying an additional 508,363 shares in the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Grocery Outlet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $7.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.68.

Insider Activity

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director John E. Bachman purchased 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.46 per share, with a total value of $103,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 73,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $473,950.82. The trade was a 27.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.00 per share, for a total transaction of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 326,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,959,000. This trade represents a 62.03% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 301,000 shares of company stock worth $1,802,160 and have sold 81,347 shares worth $475,066. 4.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of GO stock opened at $6.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.33 and a 200-day moving average of $12.28. The company has a market cap of $596.75 million, a P/E ratio of -2.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 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. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a one year low of $5.66 and a one year high of $19.41.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.02). Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.93% and a negative net margin of 4.80%.The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Grocery Outlet

Here are the key news stories impacting Grocery Outlet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple large director buys — Directors Erik D. Ragatz (125,000 shares at ~$6.00), Jeffrey York (120,000 shares at ~$5.82) and Carey Jaros (40,000 shares at ~$6.26) materially increased holdings, signaling insider confidence and providing near‑term demand support. Read More. • Read More. • Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: High institutional ownership — Nearly all float is held by institutions, which supports liquidity but can amplify volatility if large funds rebalance. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities‑law investigations announced — Several law firms (Pomerantz, Glancy Prongay Wolke, Frank R. Cruz and others) have launched probes into possible disclosure/ guidance issues, increasing legal risk and investor uncertainty. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational hit — Company will close four Northeast Ohio stores citing “millions in losses,” a near‑term drag on revenues/margins in affected markets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales by senior execs — CEO and several senior executives sold stock recently; large insider sales can raise investor concern about near‑term outlook or liquidity needs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings & guidance weakness plus analyst cuts — Q4 slightly missed EPS/revenue and FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $0.45–$0.55 is lower than some models; several firms cut ratings/targets, pressuring sentiment. Read More. • Read More.

Grocery Outlet 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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