Zacks Research Forecasts Weaker Earnings for Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) – Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Grocery Outlet in a report issued on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of ($0.03) per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.11. The consensus estimate for Grocery Outlet’s current full-year earnings is $0.63 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Grocery Outlet’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.13 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.18 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.10 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.39 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at ($0.02) EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.15 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.11 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $0.45 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. DA Davidson set a $8.00 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $7.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Grocery Outlet in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GO opened at $6.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.37. Grocery Outlet has a one year low of $5.66 and a one year high of $19.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $640.92 million, a P/E ratio of -2.85, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $8.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.51.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 591.5% in the 3rd 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. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Grocery Outlet by 1,030.4% in the 4th 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 during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Grocery Outlet in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 99.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey York acquired 120,000 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.82 per share, for a total transaction of $698,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 120,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $698,400. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason J. N. Potter acquired 286,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.90 per share, for a total transaction of $1,687,972.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 574,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,388,759.40. The trade was a 99.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders bought 787,097 shares of company stock valued at $4,679,132 and sold 89,493 shares valued at $524,431. 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: CEO insider purchase — the company’s CEO bought roughly $1.69M of GO shares, a bullish signal that may support the stock and attract investor interest. Insider Buying: Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) CEO Acquires $1,687,972.30 in Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data released today appears inconsistent/erroneous (reports show 0 shares and NaN changes, days-to-cover = 0.0). That means there’s no reliable short-squeeze or heavy shorting signal from these filings — treat the short-interest notice as non-actionable until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class-action notices and law-firm reminders were filed/issued alleging misstatements during the Aug 5, 2025–Mar 4, 2026 period; deadlines for lead-plaintiff motions are mid-May. The volume of filings (Kessler Topaz, Pomerantz, Glancy, Faruqi, Bernstein, Gross, Bronstein and others) raises near-term legal risk, potential litigation costs, and headline volatility for GO. Kessler Topaz Class Action Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/forecast pressure — a Zacks research note flagged lower expected earnings for Grocery Outlet, which compounds downside risk following the company’s recent quarterly EPS miss and cautious FY2026 guidance. That analyst sentiment can weigh on the stock while litigation headlines persist. Zacks Research Predicts Lower Earnings for Grocery Outlet

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.