Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Trading Down 5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) fell 5% during mid-day trading, reaching a low of $15.64 before closing at $15.72.
• Brokerages have mixed ratings for the company, with three analysts rating it as a Buy, nine as Hold, and one as Sell, and an average price target of $16.08.
• Grocery Outlet reported earnings of $0.23 per share, exceeding expectations, but revenue slightly missed forecasts, with $1.18 billion for the quarter.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $15.64 and last traded at $15.72. Approximately 735,921 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,163,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GO shares. Craig Hallum upgraded Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock in a report 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 company from $13.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.00.

Grocery Outlet Stock Down 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 222.15, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $16.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.78. 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 (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 0.18% and a return on equity of 6.34%. Grocery Outlet's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.750-0.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven K. Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.24, for a total transaction of $91,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 141,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,588,675.52. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,509,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1,577.2% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,262,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,617,000 after buying an additional 3,068,405 shares in the last quarter. Solas Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $13,736,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,390,051 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,688,000 after buying an additional 702,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,674,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.87% of the company's stock.

About Grocery Outlet

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.