Brokerages Set Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) Target Price at $7.50

Shares of Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.50.

PTLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price target on Portillo’s in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Portillo’s from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. DA Davidson started coverage on Portillo’s in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $8.00) on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity at Portillo’s

In related news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 286,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director directly owned 416,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,156,175. The trade was a 219.58% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Portillo’s in the third quarter valued at $1,935,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,350,000 after purchasing an additional 52,875 shares in the last quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Portillo’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $840,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,344,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after buying an additional 11,725 shares during the period. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Portillo’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $244,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Portillo’s Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:PTLO opened at $5.29 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.52 and its 200-day moving average is $5.40. 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 52 week low of $4.41 and a 52 week high of $13.55. The firm has a market cap of $399.45 million, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.75.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $185.50 million. Portillo’s had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 3.93%. Portillo’s’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Portillo’s will post 0.35 earnings per share 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.