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

Shares of Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.0250.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PTLO shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Roth Capital set a $8.00 target price on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Portillo’s from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim cut shares of Portillo’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $5.25 price target on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Portillo’s Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PTLO opened at $4.75 on Tuesday. Portillo’s has a 52-week low of $3.78 and a 52-week high of $11.82. The stock has a market cap of $360.10 million, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $182.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.26 million. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 2.12%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Portillo’s will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Portillo’s news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 70,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.28 per share, for a total transaction of $300,306.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 486,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,856.20. The trade was a 16.86% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portillo’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PTLO. Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Portillo’s by 83,350.0% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Portillo’s by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Portillo’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Portillo’s by 5,110.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 8,688 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Portillo’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

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.