Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,078 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Grocery Outlet were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GO. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,128,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,602,000. FPR Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. FPR Partners LLC now owns 5,991,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,527,000 after purchasing an additional 791,474 shares in the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,569,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,502,000 after buying an additional 735,931 shares during the period. Finally, Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,914,000. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GO opened at $13.29 on Friday. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a twelve month low of $10.26 and a twelve month high of $22.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.75.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 1.20%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Erik D. Ragatz acquired 165,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.25 per share, for a total transaction of $2,021,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 201,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,468,375. This trade represents a 452.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Christopher M. Miller acquired 10,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $116,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 219,000 shares of company stock worth $2,709,790 and sold 19,124 shares worth $235,730. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Grocery Outlet from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $13.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.62.

Grocery Outlet Profile

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates as a retailer of consumables and fresh products sold through independently operated stores in the United States. Its stores offer products in various categories, such as dairy and deli, produce, floral, fresh meat, seafood products, grocery, general merchandise, health and beauty care, frozen food, beer and wine, and ethnic products.