223,163 Shares in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. $GO Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 223,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,227,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the second quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the 2nd quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the 2nd quarter worth $6,606,000. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul Miller bought 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.90 per share, with a total value of $87,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 72,171 shares in the company, valued at $786,663.90. This represents a 12.47% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carey F. Jaros purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.70 per share, with a total value of $175,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,000. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 38,000 shares of company stock worth $403,900. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GO opened at $12.38 on Friday. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a one year low of $5.66 and a one year high of $18.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -3.20, a P/E/G ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.87.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.07. Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.84% and a negative net margin of 8.04%.The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Grocery Outlet from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Grocery Outlet Company Profile

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company’s unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.