Roth Capital Upgrades Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) to “Strong-Buy”

Roth Capital upgraded shares of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GO. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Grocery Outlet from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Grocery Outlet from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Grocery Outlet from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Craig Hallum downgraded Grocery Outlet from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Grocery Outlet from $27.00 to $21.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.75.

Grocery Outlet Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of GO stock opened at $19.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.89. Grocery Outlet has a 12-month low of $18.16 and a 12-month high of $35.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.09.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.05. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.46% and a net margin of 1.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Grocery Outlet

In related news, EVP Luke D. Thompson sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.43, for a total value of $29,876.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,623.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Luke D. Thompson sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.43, for a total transaction of $29,876.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,623.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John E. Bachman bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 25,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $519,768.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 37,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 24,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 2.5% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the first quarter valued at $25,000. 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.