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

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by stock analysts at Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $5.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 12.87% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Portillo’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Portillo’s from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Roth Capital set a $8.00 target price on Portillo’s in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Portillo’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Portillo’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.92.

Portillo’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ PTLO opened at $4.43 on Thursday. Portillo’s has a 52-week low of $3.78 and a 52-week high of $8.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $335.84 million, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.46 and a 200-day moving average of $5.03.

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 business had revenue of $198.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Portillo’s will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 70,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.28 per share, for a total transaction of $300,306.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 486,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,081,856.20. This represents a 16.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 155,205 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 830,460 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Portillo’s by 4.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,563,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,587,000 after purchasing an additional 149,931 shares during the last quarter. Engaged Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $18,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Portillo’s in the fourth quarter worth $10,350,000. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.