Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Price Target Raised to $11.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Grocery Outlet’s price target from $7 to $11 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 4% upside from the reported $10.57 share price.
• Grocery Outlet exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.20 in adjusted EPS and $1.19 billion in revenue, and management raised fiscal 2026 net-sales guidance to $4.70 billion–$4.72 billion.
• Despite the earnings beat, comparable-store sales fell 0.3%, revenue growth was only 1.1%, and reported diluted EPS declined from $0.23 to $0.06 year over year. Analysts remain cautious, with an average “Reduce” rating and average price target of $10.85.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $7.00 to $11.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.02% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GO. Telsey Advisory Group set a $12.00 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson set a $12.00 target price on Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Grocery Outlet from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Grocery Outlet from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Grocery Outlet currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $10.85.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

GO stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $10.57. 1,981,055 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,136,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Grocery Outlet has a 12-month low of $5.66 and a 12-month high of $19.23. The stock's 50 day moving average is $9.59 and its 200 day moving average is $8.63. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.65.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.69% and a negative net margin of 8.08%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Blaine Miller acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.50 per share, for a total transaction of $47,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 64,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,624.50. This trade represents a 8.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,726,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,859 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,255,936 shares of the company's stock worth $113,685,000 after purchasing an additional 213,325 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 262.2% during the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 645,159 shares of the company's stock worth $6,516,000 after purchasing an additional 467,019 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,816,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,449,000 after buying an additional 173,308 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 146.3% in the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 682,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,895,000 after buying an additional 405,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.87% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Grocery Outlet

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

• Positive Sentiment: Grocery Outlet reported adjusted earnings of $0.20 per share, above the $0.12–$0.13 analyst consensus, while revenue of $1.19 billion also topped estimates of approximately $1.17 billion. Grocery Outlet Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised fiscal 2026 net-sales guidance to $4.70 billion–$4.72 billion, reportedly above the Street’s prior view. The improved outlook supports the bullish reaction despite modest year-over-year growth. Grocery Outlet Beats Q2 Estimates and Raises FY26 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Net income increased to $5.6 million from $5.0 million a year earlier, and several company insiders have made substantial open-market purchases over the past six months. A valuation article also characterized GO as potentially undervalued, with a GF Score of 66/100. Grocery Outlet Q2 Net Sales Rise Grocery Outlet Stock Up and Still Undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: On the earnings call, management provided additional commentary on the quarter, its value-focused strategy and the updated outlook. Investors will likely focus on whether these initiatives can accelerate sales and improve margins. Grocery Outlet Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Comparable-store sales declined 0.3%, revenue rose only 1.1% year over year, and the company opened 10 stores while closing 12. Reported diluted EPS was $0.06, below the $0.23 achieved in the prior-year quarter, highlighting continued earnings-quality and margin concerns. Grocery Outlet Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results

About Grocery Outlet

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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