Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Portillo’s from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Portillo’s to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.66.

Portillo’s Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ:PTLO opened at $4.66 on Friday. Portillo’s has a 1 year low of $3.29 and a 1 year high of $6.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director I Jr bought 65,355 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,624.30. This trade represents a 13.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTLO. Engaged Capital LLC raised 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 buying an additional 1,908,000 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 501.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 269,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 224,486 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $6,893,000 after buying an additional 166,617 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 132.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 70,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 40,200 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Portillo’s by 283.1% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 36,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 27,014 shares during 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 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.