Morgan Stanley Cuts Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Price Target to $6.00

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $7.00 to $6.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

PTLO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Portillo’s in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Roth Mkm set a $8.00 target price on Portillo’s in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Portillo’s in a report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.02.

Portillo’s Trading Down 1.4%

PTLO opened at $4.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $324.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.72. Portillo’s has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $13.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.31. 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 released 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 firm had revenue of $182.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.27 million. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 2.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Portillo’s will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 286,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.18 per share, with a total value of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 416,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,156,175. This trade represents a 219.58% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Portillo’s

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 176.6% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,893 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 84.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,401 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 69.6% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Portillo’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 336.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 6,271 shares in the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Portillo’s

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.