Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,020,000 shares, a growth of 9.2% from the March 15th total of 6,430,000 shares. Approximately 7.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GO traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $26.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,374,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,256,159. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.22. Grocery Outlet has a 52 week low of $23.41 and a 52 week high of $36.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The company had revenue of $989.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $982.44 million. Equities research analysts predict that Grocery Outlet will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum upgraded Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Joseph Jr. Sheedy sold 10,456 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $275,306.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 198,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,239,459.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrea Renee Bortner sold 4,112 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $108,268.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,308 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,279.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Joseph Jr. Sheedy sold 10,456 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $275,306.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,239,459.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 506,588 shares of company stock worth $13,367,577 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Grocery Outlet by 58.1% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 762 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.7% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 58,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 42,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 5.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 7,791 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Finally, Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 5.4% during the third quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,366 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.