Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Stock

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential upside of 26.72% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Grocery Outlet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $12.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Grocery Outlet from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Grocery Outlet from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $13.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.54.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GO opened at $14.99 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.91. Grocery Outlet has a 12-month low of $10.26 and a 12-month high of $26.21. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.42.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Grocery Outlet will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 165,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.25 per share, with a total value of $2,021,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 201,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,468,375. This represents a 452.05 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven K. Wilson sold 6,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.34, for a total transaction of $73,449.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 173,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,968,680.70. This trade represents a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 200,000 shares of company stock worth $2,435,050 and sold 17,756 shares worth $216,892. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Grocery Outlet by 276.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,506 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Grocery Outlet by 236.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,188 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 3,644 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. 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.

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