UBS Group AG Cuts Stock Position in Portillo’s Inc. $PTLO

UBS Group AG lowered its holdings in Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 597,464 shares of the company’s stock after selling 376,970 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.79% of Portillo’s worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 731.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 156,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after buying an additional 137,854 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Portillo’s during the 1st quarter valued at $318,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Portillo’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $145,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 45.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 74,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 23,115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PTLO. Weiss Ratings lowered Portillo’s from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Portillo’s from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim lowered Portillo’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Portillo’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.02.

Portillo’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PTLO opened at $3.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.26. Portillo’s Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.81 and a 52-week high of $12.44. The firm has a market cap of $301.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.22 and its 200 day moving average is $5.18.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $182.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.27 million. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 2.12%.Portillo’s’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Portillo’s Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Portillo’s news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 286,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 416,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,156,175. The trade was a 219.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.