Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.6364.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 target price (down from $8.00) on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 target price on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th.

Portillo’s Stock Down 2.6%

PTLO opened at $5.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.27. Portillo’s has a fifty-two week low of $4.41 and a fifty-two week high of $13.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.58 and its 200 day moving average is $5.34. The stock has a market cap of $447.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.68.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Portillo’s had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 3.93%. The company had revenue of $185.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. Portillo’s’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Portillo’s will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Portillo’s

In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 286,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 416,250 shares in the company, valued at $2,156,175. This represents a 219.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Portillo’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Portillo’s by 176.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Portillo’s by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,401 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Portillo’s by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Portillo’s in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Portillo’s by 336.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 6,271 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 fast‐casual restaurant chain best known for its Chicago‐style menu, featuring Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago‐style hot dogs, char‐grilled burgers, salads, crinkle‐cut fries and hand‐spun milkshakes. In addition to its signature sandwiches and dogs, the company offers a selection of desserts—including its famous chocolate cake and frozen custard—as well as catering services designed to bring its Midwestern flavors to corporate and social events.

The company was founded in 1963 by Dick Portillo, who opened the first Portillo’s in Villa Park, Illinois.