Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Stock Price Up 4% – Should You Buy?

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) rose 4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $12.24 and last traded at $12.17. Approximately 195,762 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 3,122,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Grocery Outlet from $10.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $7.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Grocery Outlet Trading Up 4.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.07. Grocery Outlet had a negative net margin of 8.04% and a positive return on equity of 5.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Grocery Outlet news, insider Paul Blaine Miller purchased 10,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.37 per share, with a total value of $93,700.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 59,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $554,432.27. This represents a 20.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 23,000 shares of company stock worth $228,400. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GO. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1,030.4% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the second quarter valued at $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

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.