Zacks Research Weighs in on Grocery Outlet FY2028 Earnings

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research issued their FY2028 EPS estimates for shares of Grocery Outlet in a report issued on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team forecasts that the company will earn $0.50 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for Grocery Outlet’s current full-year earnings is $0.63 per share.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Grocery Outlet from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Craig Hallum downgraded Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $8.00 price target on shares of Grocery Outlet in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of Grocery Outlet stock opened at $5.79 on Friday. Grocery Outlet has a 12 month low of $5.66 and a 12 month high of $19.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $568.29 million, a PE ratio of -2.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.72.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.93% and a negative net margin of 4.80%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Grocery Outlet in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 591.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Grocery Outlet in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 32.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jason J. N. Potter purchased 286,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.90 per share, with a total value of $1,687,972.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,388,759.40. This trade represents a 99.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 50,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.75 per share, with a total value of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 526,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,027,375. The trade was a 10.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 787,097 shares of company stock valued at $4,679,132 and have sold 89,493 shares valued at $524,431. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Grocery Outlet News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Director insider buying: Director Erik D. Ragatz substantially increased his stake, buying 33,997 shares on March 18 (~$5.85/sh) and a reported 50,000 shares on March 19 (~$5.75/sh), raising his direct holdings to ~526,500 shares. Insider purchases at current low prices can signal management confidence and provide short‑term support. InsiderTrades: Director Purchases
• Neutral Sentiment: Company profile/operations story: A feature on Grocery Outlet’s opportunistic sourcing and discount model ran on MSN, useful context for revenue and margin drivers but unlikely to move the stock materially by itself. MSN: How Grocery Outlet’s food gets onto its shelves
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple class‑action / shareholder alerts: Several law firms (Pomerantz, Robbins LLP, Bernstein Liebhard, Faruqi & Faruqi, Levi & Korsinsky, etc.) have announced or reminded investors of securities‑fraud suits covering Aug. 5, 2025–Mar. 4, 2026, and set lead‑plaintiff deadlines (commonly May 15, 2026). The proliferation of filings increases legal and reputational risk, may raise defense or settlement costs, and typically weighs on the stock until resolved. Pomerantz investor alert on GO class action
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and estimate pressure: Following the March 4 quarter (missed EPS and slightly light revenue) sell‑side firms have cut targets/ratings and services such as Zacks have trimmed multi‑year EPS views (e.g., FY2028 view lower than consensus). Downward revisions and “hold/reduce” stances constrain upside until earnings/guidance stabilize. (See recent analyst notes and coverage summaries.)

About Grocery Outlet

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.