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 the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,660,000 shares, a growth of 14.2% from the October 15th total of 10,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days. Currently, 12.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Grocery Outlet Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:GO opened at $17.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.13. Grocery Outlet has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $29.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Grocery Outlet from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Roth Capital raised Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Grocery Outlet from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 200,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.29, for a total transaction of $3,259,547.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,580.02. The trade was a 73.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 277,706 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 3rd quarter worth $511,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 357.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 519,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,118,000 after buying an additional 406,039 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,407,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,796,000 after buying an additional 21,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 3rd quarter worth $566,000. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.