Heartland Advisors Inc. Acquires New Stake in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. $GO

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 277,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,448,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 5.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 3.5% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 591.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Grocery Outlet from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.32.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

GO stock opened at $10.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 1 year low of $8.96 and a 1 year high of $19.41. The company has a market cap of $985.33 million, a P/E ratio of -200.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.30.

Grocery Outlet 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.