JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stake in Portillo’s Inc. $PTLO

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) by 88.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 480,924 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Portillo’s were worth $392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GM Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Portillo’s in the third quarter worth approximately $1,935,000. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Portillo’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $840,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Portillo’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Portillo’s news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 286,000 shares of Portillo’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 416,250 shares in the company, valued at $2,156,175. This trade represents a 219.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PTLO shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Portillo’s from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $8.00) on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.50.

Portillo’s Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PTLO opened at $5.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $419.84 million, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Portillo’s Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.41 and a twelve month high of $13.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.36.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Portillo’s had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 3.93%. The business had revenue of $185.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Portillo’s Inc. will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portillo’s 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.