Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 6.95% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised Portillo’s to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Portillo’s from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Portillo’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.66.

Portillo’s Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ PTLO traded down $0.12 on Thursday, reaching $4.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,124,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,653,011. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.58. 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 has a 12-month low of $3.29 and a 12-month high of $6.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.58.

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portillo’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 166,617 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Portillo’s by 34.0% in the second quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 78,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Portillo’s by 8.7% in the second 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 during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 224,486 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 65,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 14,973 shares during the period. 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.