Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 28,770 Shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 461,340 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,770 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Grocery Outlet were worth $8,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 281.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,579,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,023,000 after buying an additional 2,641,016 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 677.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,981,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726,741 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 505.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 51,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 43,358 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 137.5% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 197,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,378,000 after purchasing an additional 114,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 99.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Eric J. Jr. Lindberg sold 200,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.29, for a total value of $3,259,547.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,580.02. This trade represents a 73.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.25 per share, with a total value of $2,007,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 539,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,851,076.25. This represents a 25.59 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GO opened at $18.63 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a 1 year low of $13.60 and a 1 year high of $29.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.13.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Grocery Outlet had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 1.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum lowered their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen cut shares of Grocery Outlet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

About Grocery Outlet

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.