Craig Hallum Upgrades Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) to Buy

Key Points

• Grocery Outlet has been upgraded by Craig Hallum to a "buy" rating from a "hold," with a price target of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.57% from its current price.
• The company recently reported earnings, achieving $0.23 EPS for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.17, although revenue fell slightly short of expectations.
• Insider transactions show that Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 19,000 shares of the company, increasing his position significantly, which highlights confidence in the stock's potential.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Craig Hallum from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $17.00 price target on the stock. Craig Hallum's target price suggests a potential downside of 8.31% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on GO. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $14.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.08.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

Shares of Grocery Outlet stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.54. 5,619,094 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,697,051. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Grocery Outlet has a fifty-two week low of $10.26 and a fifty-two week high of $21.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 264.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 0.18% and a return on equity of 6.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Grocery Outlet will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GO. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Grocery Outlet by 213.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Grocery Outlet by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,024 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 276.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.