Grocery Outlet’s (GO) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reiterated their hold rating on shares of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $7.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $18.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $9.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Grocery Outlet has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 3.6%

GO stock opened at $6.57 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.64 and a 200-day moving average of $12.58. Grocery Outlet has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $19.41. The company has a market capitalization of $644.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.87, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Grocery Outlet had a negative net margin of 4.80% and a positive return on equity of 5.93%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Grocery Outlet will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,763,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,528,722 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 3,558.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,825,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775,505 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,726,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,859 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 219.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,462,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,126 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,914,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,336,000 after buying an additional 987,367 shares in the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Grocery Outlet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Grocery Outlet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Grocery Outlet retained Gordon Brothers to market retail leasehold opportunities as part of its store-portfolio optimization, which could recover value from closed or underperforming locations. Gordon Brothers Retained by Grocery Outlet
• Neutral Sentiment: Management set FY2026 EPS guidance (about $0.45–$0.55), giving a baseline for expectations but signaling a recovery path that will depend on fixing value perception and comp trends. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations: EPS of $0.19 vs. $0.21 estimate, revenue slightly below estimates, comps weakened. Management reported a large operating loss driven by $113.8M long‑lived asset impairment, $149.0M goodwill impairment and $45.9M of restructuring charges — contributing to a FY2025 net loss (reported coverage highlights these write‑downs). Investor Alert / Impairment Details
• Negative Sentiment: Company announced plans to close 36 stores after a $224.9M FY2025 net loss — a sign management is accelerating portfolio cuts but also acknowledging execution and merchandising issues that hurt traffic and margins. Grocery Outlet To Close 36 Stores
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple brokerages cut ratings and price targets (Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, DA Davidson, Telsey, Craig Hallum), citing the downbeat quarter, weaker comps and the need to restore value perception — analyst downgrades amplify selling pressure. Analysts Slash Forecasts After Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder‑side investigations have been announced (multiple firms), alleging possible misstatements around financials and operations — legal risk and potential disclosures add uncertainty. Ademi LLP Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary and analysis point to weakening customer perception of value, increased promotional activity and competitive pressure — all factors that suggest the recovery could be prolonged. Why Grocery Outlet Stock Crashed Today

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.