Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $10.50 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $16.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on GO. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $11.00 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.64.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of GO opened at $9.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.86 and a 200 day moving average of $12.97. The company has a market capitalization of $969.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -197.60, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.49. Grocery Outlet has a 12 month low of $8.96 and a 12 month high of $19.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GO. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 32.3% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 30,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares during the period. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grocery Outlet Company Profile

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.