Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Portillo’s from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Portillo’s to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.66.

Portillo’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTLO opened at $4.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $353.89 million, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Portillo’s has a twelve month low of $3.29 and a twelve month high of $6.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.57.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.09. The company had revenue of $198.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.22 million. Portillo’s had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 2.78%. Portillo’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Portillo’s will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Portillo’s

In other news, Director I Jr bought 65,355 shares of Portillo’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.59 per share, for a total transaction of $299,979.45. Following the purchase, the director owned 551,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,624.30. The trade was a 13.44% 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. Company insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTLO. Engaged Capital LLC lifted its position in Portillo’s by 124.3% in the first quarter. Engaged Capital LLC now owns 3,442,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Portillo’s by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,454,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,893,000 after purchasing an additional 166,617 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Portillo’s by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 704,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 22,744 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in Portillo’s by 501.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 269,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 224,486 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Portillo’s by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 263,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Portillo’s

Portillo’s, Inc operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants known for Chicago-style food. Its menu features Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef and sausage sandwiches, burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, French fries, milkshakes and its signature chocolate cake.

The company serves customers through company-operated restaurants, drive-thru lanes, takeout and delivery services, as well as catering. Portillo’s restaurants are concentrated in the Midwest and have expanded into select Sun Belt markets, including Arizona and Florida.

Portillo’s traces its origins to 1963, when founder Dick Portillo opened a small hot dog stand called The Dog House in Villa Park, Illinois.