Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Up 4.2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) traded up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $15.78 and last traded at $15.68. 327,562 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,816,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Grocery Outlet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Grocery Outlet Trading Up 5.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.50. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.25.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 1.20%. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 110,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.25 per share, with a total value of $2,007,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 539,785 shares in the company, valued at $9,851,076.25. This trade represents a 25.59 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Grocery Outlet by 1.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 76.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Grocery Outlet by 7.2% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 21.9% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares in the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.