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

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 10,055 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,317% compared to the average volume of 416 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grocery Outlet

In related news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 70,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,340,728.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 200,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,580.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 100,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 70,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,340,728.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 500,095 shares of company stock valued at $8,876,548. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 76.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the second quarter worth $38,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the second quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 1st quarter valued at $127,000. 99.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GO traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.86. The company had a trading volume of 4,687,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,770,616. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Grocery Outlet has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $29.98.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.05. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 5.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GO shares. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Grocery Outlet from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital raised Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.27.

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.