Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) to Buy

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $18.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $13.00.

GO has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.46.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GO opened at $15.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Grocery Outlet has a 1-year low of $10.26 and a 1-year high of $27.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven K. Wilson sold 6,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.16, for a total value of $87,935.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,196,706.68. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christopher M. Miller bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $116,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $116,800. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,435,050 and have sold 17,756 shares valued at $216,892. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,407,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,796,000 after purchasing an additional 21,237 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1,224.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 300,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,271,000 after purchasing an additional 277,706 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the third quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Grocery Outlet by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.