Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $5.45, but opened at $6.04. Portillo’s shares last traded at $6.6610, with a volume of 3,225,724 shares traded.

The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $194.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.18 million. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 2.78% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.02 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Portillo’s from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Portillo’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Portillo’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Friday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Portillo’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.66.

Insider Transactions at Portillo’s

In other news, Director I Jr purchased 65,355 shares of Portillo’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $299,979.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 551,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,532,624.30. This represents a 13.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Portillo’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Portillo’s by 12.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,454,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,893,000 after buying an additional 166,617 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Portillo’s by 34.0% during the second quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 78,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Portillo’s by 8.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 131,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 10,570 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP grew its position in Portillo’s by 501.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 269,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 224,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Portillo’s Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $504.62 million, a PE ratio of 36.70, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Portillo’s Company Profile

Portillo’s, Inc operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants known for Chicago-style food. Its menu features Italian beef and Italian sausage sandwiches, Chicago-style hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, french fries, shakes and other desserts.

The company traces its origins to 1963, when Dick Portillo opened a small hot dog stand called The Dog House in Villa Park, Illinois. Portillo’s has since expanded from its Chicago-area roots into a multi-state restaurant business, with locations primarily in the United States.