Insider Buying: Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Major Shareholder Buys 23,394 Shares of Stock

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme purchased 23,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.62 per share, with a total value of $154,868.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,561,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,340,340.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Nierenberg Investment Manageme also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 5th, Nierenberg Investment Manageme purchased 45,772 shares of Potbelly stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.48 per share, with a total value of $296,602.56.

Potbelly Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Potbelly stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.65. 372,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,542. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.65 and its 200 day moving average is $10.08. The firm has a market cap of $198.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.42 and a beta of 1.16. Potbelly Co. has a 1 year low of $6.28 and a 1 year high of $14.36.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $111.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.80 million. Potbelly had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 36.44%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Potbelly Co. will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Potbelly

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 47.9% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 5,118 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 14.6% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 8,484 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 152.1% in the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 293,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after buying an additional 177,100 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 21.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 35,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 6,239 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 9,350.6% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 7,761 shares during the period. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Potbelly in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Potbelly presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

About Potbelly

Potbelly Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises Potbelly sandwich shops in the United States. The company was formerly known as Potbelly Sandwich Works, Inc and changed its name to Potbelly Corporation in 2002. Potbelly Corporation was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.