Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Cut to Hold at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum cut shares of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on GO. Zacks Research downgraded Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Grocery Outlet from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $15.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:GO opened at $6.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $644.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.64 and a 200-day moving average of $12.58. Grocery Outlet has a one year low of $6.20 and a one year high of $19.41.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Grocery Outlet will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

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

More 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.