Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Director Erik Ragatz Acquires 16,003 Shares

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) Director Erik Ragatz acquired 16,003 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.85 per share, with a total value of $93,617.55. Following the transaction, the director owned 442,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,642.55. This represents a 3.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GO opened at $5.87 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $576.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.56, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 52-week low of $5.66 and a 52-week high of $19.41.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.02). Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.93% and a negative net margin of 4.80%.The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GO shares. DA Davidson set a $8.00 price target on Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Craig Hallum downgraded Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $15.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $10.50 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.68.

Key Grocery Outlet News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Director Erik D. Ragatz made sizable open-market purchases (100,000 shares at ~$6.09 on Mar 16 and a further 16,003 shares at ~$5.85 on Mar 17), increasing his stake materially — a strong vote of confidence from management that can support the stock. SEC Form 4 — Ragatz purchases
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated sector story: a MarketBeat piece on quantum computing (IBM vs. D‑Wave) appeared today — not material to Grocery Outlet’s retail fundamentals but part of broader market noise. (No direct link provided)
• Negative Sentiment: Two Grocery Outlet EVPs — Steven K. Wilson and Luke D. Thompson — sold small portions of their holdings (sales on Mar 16 at ~$6.06), a modest insider sell signal that may add short-term pressure. SEC Form 4 — Wilson sale SEC Form 4 — Thompson sale
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or announced securities class actions and investigations covering the period Aug 5, 2025–Mar 4, 2026 (deadline to seek lead plaintiff positions ~May 15, 2026). These filings and the Levi & Korsinsky inquiry raise the risk of litigation costs, distraction, and potential settlements — a meaningful near-term headwind for the stock. BusinessWire — Kirby McInerney investor alert GlobeNewswire — Pomerantz alert

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 591.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1,030.4% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.