Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Trading 4.9% Higher on Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Insider buying: Three directors bought shares this month (Erik D. Ragatz 125,000 at $6.00; Jeffrey York 120,000 at $5.82; Carey F. Jaros 40,000 at $6.26), and the stock jumped about 4.9% intraday to roughly $6.38 on the news.
• Grocery Outlet missed the quarter (EPS $0.19 vs. $0.21 est.; revenue $1.22B vs. $1.23B) and issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $0.450–0.550, while analysts hold a consensus "Reduce" rating with a $10.68 price target.
• The company has a market cap around $630.6M, a negative P/E (-2.81), and institutional/hedge funds reportedly own about 99.87% of shares outstanding.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) traded up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $6.43 and last traded at $6.3750. 2,145,209 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 3,212,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.08.

Specifically, Director Erik D. Ragatz bought 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.00 per share, with a total value of $750,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 326,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,959,000. This represents a 62.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey York purchased 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.82 per share, for a total transaction of $698,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 120,000 shares in the company, valued at $698,400. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In other news, Director Carey F. Jaros acquired 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $250,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 76,066 shares in the company, valued at $476,173.16. This represents a 110.91% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Craig Hallum cut shares of Grocery Outlet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Grocery Outlet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $11.00 price objective on Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 5.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.28. The stock has a market cap of $630.61 million, a P/E ratio of -2.81, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.50.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. Analysts expect that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in Grocery Outlet by 1,030.4% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,532 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 591.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Grocery Outlet by 32.3% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.87% of the company's stock.

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.

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