Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Short Interest Update

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 7.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Grocery Outlet Stock Down 1.3 %

GO stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $26.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 383,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,240. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.10. Grocery Outlet has a 12 month low of $23.41 and a 12 month high of $36.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.20.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $989.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $982.44 million. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 7.17%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas F. Herman sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $29,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $301,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 36,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.25 per share, for a total transaction of $1,031,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,125. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas F. Herman sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $29,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $301,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 506,588 shares of company stock worth $13,367,577 in the last ninety days. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 762 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 248.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GO. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised shares of Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.44.

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.