Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Given Equal Weight Rating at Stephens

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by investment analysts at Stephens in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $5.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ target price points to a potential upside of 1.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Portillo’s to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Portillo’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Portillo’s from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.66.

Portillo’s Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ PTLO opened at $4.92 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.58. The company has a market capitalization of $373.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.58. Portillo’s has a twelve month low of $3.29 and a twelve month high of $6.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. Portillo’s had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 2.78%. The company had revenue of $198.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Portillo’s will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Portillo’s news, Director I Jr acquired 65,355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $299,979.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 551,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,532,624.30. The trade was a 13.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTLO. Engaged Capital LLC increased its stake in Portillo’s by 124.3% during the 1st quarter. Engaged Capital LLC now owns 3,442,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908,000 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in Portillo’s by 501.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 269,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 224,486 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Portillo’s by 12.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,454,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,893,000 after buying an additional 166,617 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 131,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 10,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 34.0% during the second quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 78,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Portillo’s Company Profile

Portillo’s, Inc operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants known for Chicago-style food. Its menu features Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef and sausage sandwiches, burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, French fries, milkshakes and its signature chocolate cake.

The company serves customers through company-operated restaurants, drive-thru lanes, takeout and delivery services, as well as catering. Portillo’s restaurants are concentrated in the Midwest and have expanded into select Sun Belt markets, including Arizona and Florida.

Portillo’s traces its origins to 1963, when founder Dick Portillo opened a small hot dog stand called The Dog House in Villa Park, Illinois.