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

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $5.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.30% from the stock’s previous close.

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

Portillo’s Price Performance

Portillo’s stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,481,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,546. Portillo’s has a fifty-two week low of $3.29 and a fifty-two week high of $6.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.89 million, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.58.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 2.78% and a net margin of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $198.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. Portillo’s’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Portillo’s will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director I Jr purchased 65,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $299,979.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 551,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,532,624.30. The trade was a 13.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTLO. Engaged Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Portillo’s by 124.3% during the first 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 during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 501.5% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 269,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 224,486 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Portillo’s by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,454,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,893,000 after acquiring an additional 166,617 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Portillo’s during the 4th quarter worth about $197,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Portillo’s by 132.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 70,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 40,200 shares during the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.