Erik Ragatz Purchases 50,000 Shares of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Stock

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Director Erik Ragatz bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.75 per share, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 526,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,027,375. This trade represents a 10.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

NASDAQ GO opened at $5.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $568.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.77. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 52-week low of $5.66 and a 52-week high of $19.41.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.02). Grocery Outlet had a negative net margin of 4.80% and a positive return on equity of 5.93%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $15.00 to $9.00 in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.68.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the fourth quarter worth $177,000. Vancity Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 61,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 9,763 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,763,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,528,722 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,914,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,336,000 after acquiring an additional 987,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817 shares in the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Grocery Outlet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Grocery Outlet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director insider buying: Director Erik D. Ragatz substantially increased his stake, buying 33,997 shares on March 18 (~$5.85/sh) and a reported 50,000 shares on March 19 (~$5.75/sh), raising his direct holdings to ~526,500 shares. Insider purchases at current low prices can signal management confidence and provide short‑term support. InsiderTrades: Director Purchases
• Neutral Sentiment: Company profile/operations story: A feature on Grocery Outlet’s opportunistic sourcing and discount model ran on MSN, useful context for revenue and margin drivers but unlikely to move the stock materially by itself. MSN: How Grocery Outlet’s food gets onto its shelves
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple class‑action / shareholder alerts: Several law firms (Pomerantz, Robbins LLP, Bernstein Liebhard, Faruqi & Faruqi, Levi & Korsinsky, etc.) have announced or reminded investors of securities‑fraud suits covering Aug. 5, 2025–Mar. 4, 2026, and set lead‑plaintiff deadlines (commonly May 15, 2026). The proliferation of filings increases legal and reputational risk, may raise defense or settlement costs, and typically weighs on the stock until resolved. Pomerantz investor alert on GO class action
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and estimate pressure: Following the March 4 quarter (missed EPS and slightly light revenue) sell‑side firms have cut targets/ratings and services such as Zacks have trimmed multi‑year EPS views (e.g., FY2028 view lower than consensus). Downward revisions and “hold/reduce” stances constrain upside until earnings/guidance stabilize. (See recent analyst notes and coverage summaries.)

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company’s unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.