Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 482,178 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,080 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Grocery Outlet worth $6,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,308,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,428,000 after purchasing an additional 138,161 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,079,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 472.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 4,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 116,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $13.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $14.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Erik D. Ragatz acquired 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.46 per share, for a total transaction of $274,740.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,000 shares in the company, valued at $274,740. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

Shares of GO stock opened at $13.38 on Wednesday. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 12 month low of $10.26 and a 12 month high of $21.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 83.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Grocery Outlet had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.