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

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $5.79, but opened at $6.16. Grocery Outlet shares last traded at $6.2550, with a volume of 764,083 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Jason J. N. Potter bought 286,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.90 per share, for a total transaction of $1,687,972.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,388,759.40. This represents a 99.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Erik D. Ragatz bought 50,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.75 per share, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 526,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,027,375. The trade was a 10.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 33,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.85 per share, with a total value of $198,882.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 476,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,787,525. The trade was a 7.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $9.00 in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Grocery Outlet from $10.50 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Grocery Outlet from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Trading Up 7.3%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $610.00 million, a P/E ratio of -2.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GO. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 591.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1,030.4% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

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.