Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $6.20, but opened at $6.51. Grocery Outlet shares last traded at $6.4450, with a volume of 604,338 shares traded.

Specifically, Director Jeffrey York purchased 120,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.82 per share, for a total transaction of $698,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 120,000 shares in the company, valued at $698,400. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Carey F. Jaros acquired 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.26 per share, for a total transaction of $250,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 76,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $476,173.16. This trade represents a 110.91% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other Grocery Outlet news, Director John E. Bachman bought 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.46 per share, for a total transaction of $103,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 73,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,950.82. This represents a 27.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GO. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $10.50 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Grocery Outlet from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.32. The stock has a market cap of $631.61 million, a PE ratio of -2.82, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.50.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.93% and a negative net margin of 4.80%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. Grocery Outlet’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GO. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,763,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,528,722 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Grocery Outlet by 3,558.0% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,825,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775,505 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Grocery Outlet by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,726,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,859 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 219.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,462,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,914,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,336,000 after purchasing an additional 987,367 shares during the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.