Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) vs. Biglari (NYSE:BH.A) Critical Analysis

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) and Biglari (NYSE:BH.A) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Portillo’s and Biglari’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Portillo’s	2.12%	3.17%	0.98%
Biglari	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Portillo’s and Biglari”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Portillo’s	$732.07 million	0.49	$19.34 million	$0.21	22.57
Biglari	$395.26 million	11.53	-$166.62 million	($72.76)	-27.35

Portillo’s has higher revenue and earnings than Biglari. Biglari is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Portillo’s, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Portillo’s has a beta of 1.59, meaning that its stock price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Biglari has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Portillo’s and Biglari, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Portillo’s	1	10	2	0	2.08
Biglari	0	0	0	0	0.00

Portillo’s presently has a consensus price target of $7.02, indicating a potential upside of 48.16%. Given Portillo’s’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Portillo’s is more favorable than Biglari.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.3% of Portillo’s shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.7% of Biglari shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.3% of Portillo’s shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 70.9% of Biglari shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Portillo’s beats Biglari on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Portillo’s

Portillo’s Inc. owns and operates fast casual restaurants in the United States. The company offers Chicago-style hot dogs and sausages, Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled burgers, chopped salads, crinkle-cut French fries, homemade chocolate cakes, and chocolate cake shake. It offers its products through its website, application, and certain third-party platforms. Portillo’s Inc. was founded in 1963 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

About Biglari

Biglari Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily operates and franchises restaurants in the United States. The company owns, operates, and franchises restaurants under the Steak n Shake and Western Sizzlin names. As of December 31, 2019, it operated 368 Steak n Shake company-operated restaurants and 213 franchised units; and 4 Western Sizzlin company-operated restaurants and 48 franchised units. The company also engages in underwriting commercial trucking insurance, and selling physical damage and non-trucking liability insurance to truckers; and operates oil and natural gas properties offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, it publishes and sells magazines, and related publishing products under the MAXIM and Maxim brand name; and licenses media products and services, as well as is involved in the investment activities. The company was formerly known as The Steak n Shake Company and changed its name to Biglari Holdings Inc. in April 2010. Biglari Holdings Inc. was founded in 1934 and is based in San Antonio, Texas.