Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. was set to report first-quarter earnings after the market close Wednesday, with analysts expecting a sharp drop in profit from the same period a year ago.
The Emeryville, California-based company is projected to report quarterly earnings of 2 cents per share, down from 13 cents per share in the year-ago period, according to Benzinga Pro. The consensus estimate for quarterly revenue is $1.15 billion, compared with $1.13 billion reported a year earlier.
The lowered expectations follow a difficult stretch for the company. On March 4, Grocery Outlet reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued full-year 2026 sales guidance that came in below analyst estimates. Shares rose 1.4% to close at $7.96 on Tuesday.
Five analysts revised their ratings or price targets in the days after that report. DA Davidson analyst Michael Baker maintained a Neutral rating and cut his price target from $11 to $7 on March 5. Baker carries a 74% accuracy rate. Wells Fargo analyst Edward Kelly maintained an Equal-Weight rating and cut his target from $10.50 to $7 on the same date, with a 67% accuracy rate.
Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman also maintained an Equal-Weight rating and reduced his price target from $11 to $7 on March 5, with a 67% accuracy rate.
Two analysts went further with outright downgrades. Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman dropped the stock from Outperform to Market Perform and cut his target from $15 to $9 on March 5, carrying a 64% accuracy rate. Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and cut his target from $18 to $7 on the same date, with a 63% accuracy rate.
Grocery Outlet's stock has been under significant pressure. The multiple downgrades and price target cuts in early March left the stock's highest revised target at $9, set by Telsey, while four of the five analysts converged on a $7 target. The stock closed Tuesday at $7.96, near those revised levels.
