Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,250,000 shares, a growth of 15.6% from the December 15th total of 8,000,000 shares. Approximately 10.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grocery Outlet

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.25 per share, with a total value of $2,007,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 539,785 shares in the company, valued at $9,851,076.25. The trade was a 25.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 76.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Grocery Outlet during the second quarter worth approximately $82,000. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

Grocery Outlet stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,224,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,697. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.31. Grocery Outlet has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $29.19.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 1.20%. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Grocery Outlet’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on GO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Melius Research began coverage on Grocery Outlet in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price target on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

About Grocery Outlet

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.