Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Director Buys $299,979.45 in Stock

Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) Director Eugene Lee, Jr. bought 65,355 shares of Portillo’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,624.30. The trade was a 13.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Portillo’s Stock Performance

PTLO stock opened at $5.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.99. Portillo’s Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.78 and a 12 month high of $7.80. The company has a market capitalization of $391.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.56. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $198.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. Portillo’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Portillo’s Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PTLO. Robert W. Baird set a $5.25 target price on Portillo’s in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim downgraded Portillo’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Portillo’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Portillo’s from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Portillo’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTLO. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in Portillo’s by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 6,994,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,757,000 after acquiring an additional 155,205 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Portillo’s by 16.8% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,777,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,428,000 after acquiring an additional 830,460 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Portillo’s by 4.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,563,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,587,000 after acquiring an additional 149,931 shares during the period. Engaged Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Portillo’s by 124.3% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Portillo’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,350,000. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Portillo’s

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.