Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Short Interest Update

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,660,000 shares, an increase of 14.2% from the October 15th total of 10,210,000 shares. Currently, 12.6% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Insider Activity at Grocery Outlet

In related news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $1,844,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,308,096.72. The trade was a 58.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 76.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the second quarter worth $38,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the second quarter worth $82,000. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GO traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $17.86. 1,755,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,848,666. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $16.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.46. Grocery Outlet has a 12 month low of $13.60 and a 12 month high of $29.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.13.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Grocery Outlet's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on GO shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Craig Hallum lowered their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.00.

Grocery Outlet Company 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.