Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Trading Down 3.8% - Here's Why

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) shares fell 3.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $13.13 and last traded at $13.11. 933,875 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 2,537,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Grocery Outlet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $12.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.62.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $14.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Erik D. Ragatz acquired 19,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.46 per share, for a total transaction of $274,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $274,740. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,717,454 shares of the company's stock worth $149,830,000 after purchasing an additional 582,822 shares during the period. FPR Partners LLC lifted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. FPR Partners LLC now owns 5,991,474 shares of the company's stock worth $93,527,000 after purchasing an additional 791,474 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,833,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,845,000 after buying an additional 35,938 shares during the period. Simcoe Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,185,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1,577.2% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,262,956 shares of the company's stock worth $45,617,000 after buying an additional 3,068,405 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.87% of the company's stock.

Grocery Outlet Company 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.