Grocery Outlet Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:GO)

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 10,055 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,317% compared to the average daily volume of 416 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Grocery Outlet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $27.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Melius Research began coverage on Grocery Outlet in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Roth Capital raised Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.60.

Insider Activity at Grocery Outlet

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $1,890,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,340,728.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total value of $1,890,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 70,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,340,728.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 200,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.29, for a total value of $3,259,547.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,580.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 500,095 shares of company stock valued at $8,876,548 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,273,020 shares of the company's stock worth $250,001,000 after purchasing an additional 101,056 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 24,380 shares of the company's stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $442,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Grocery Outlet by 2.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 373,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,747,000 after acquiring an additional 9,236 shares during the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of Grocery Outlet stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.61. 1,458,535 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,756,659. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.10. Grocery Outlet has a 1-year low of $15.18 and a 1-year high of $29.98.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.05. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 1.30%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Grocery Outlet will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.