Grocery Outlet Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:GO)

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 10,055 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,317% compared to the average volume of 416 put options.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

Shares of Grocery Outlet stock opened at $13.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.13. Grocery Outlet has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $29.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.05. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 5.18%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GO shares. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Grocery Outlet from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Roth Capital raised Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Grocery Outlet from $27.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Grocery Outlet in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Grocery Outlet has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 70,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,340,728.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 200,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.90, for a total transaction of $1,890,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,340,728.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 500,095 shares of company stock worth $8,876,548 in the last quarter. 4.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 2.5% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 24,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 76.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1.2% in the first quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 73,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 86,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

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.