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

Shares of Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PTLO. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $8.00) on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 target price on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on Portillo’s in a report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Portillo’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Portillo’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Portillo’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $192,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Portillo’s by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 224,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 77,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Portillo’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Portillo’s Trading Down 3.7%

Portillo’s stock opened at $5.18 on Friday. Portillo’s has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $13.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.54 and its 200 day moving average is $5.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.14 million, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $185.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.50 million. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 2.64%.Portillo’s’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Portillo’s will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

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.