** Shares of Woolworths WOW.AX rise as much as 2.1% to A$32.22, their highest since February 26
** Stock last up 0.6% at A$31.75
** Australia's largest supermarket chain reports quarterly total group sales of A$17.31 billion ($11.10 billion), higher than analysts' estimates of A$16.64 billion
** Smaller rival Coles COL.AX on Wednesday reported a 3.4% rise in third-quarter group sales
** Citi says Woolworths' online sales growth in its Australia Food business being flat QoQ indicates some online share loss to Coles
** Stock up 5.2% YTD, including moves in current session
($1 = 1.5596 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Jasmeen Ara Shaikh in Bengaluru)
((JasmeenAraIslam.Shaikh@thomsonreuters.com))