Wellington Management Group LLP Buys New Position in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. $GO

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., acquiring over 3.1 million shares valued at approximately $43.5 million, representing 3.17% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Grocery Outlet, with 99.87% of the stock now held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts have updated their ratings on Grocery Outlet, with UBS raising the price target to $17.00 and Wells Fargo increasing it to $19.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating.

Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,112,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,509,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 3.17% of Grocery Outlet as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 64.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,024 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 236.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 3,644 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL bought a new position in Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $140,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $153,000. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

GO traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,473,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,181,654. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.21. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 1 year low of $10.26 and a 1 year high of $21.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.14 and a 200 day moving average of $14.41. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 258.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.27.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.06. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 0.18%.The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.750-0.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Craig Hallum upgraded Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Grocery Outlet from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.08.

Insider Activity at Grocery Outlet

In related news, EVP Steven K. Wilson sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,923 shares in the company, valued at $2,820,921.60. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.