Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on PTLO. UBS Group reduced their price target on Portillo’s from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Portillo’s to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Portillo’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.66.

Portillo’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PTLO opened at $4.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $369.83 million, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.51. Portillo’s has a twelve month low of $3.29 and a twelve month high of $6.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.82. 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 (NASDAQ:PTLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. Portillo’s had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 2.78%. The company had revenue of $198.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. Portillo’s’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Portillo’s will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Portillo’s news, Director I Jr acquired 65,355 shares of Portillo’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $299,979.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 551,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,532,624.30. The trade was a 13.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Essential Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Portillo’s by 83,350.0% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 5,001 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 283.1% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 36,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 27,014 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Portillo’s by 29.5% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 65,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 14,973 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 132.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 70,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 40,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 34.0% during the second quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 78,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

About Portillo’s

Portillo’s, Inc operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants known for Chicago-style food. Its menu features Italian beef and Italian sausage sandwiches, Chicago-style hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, french fries, shakes and other desserts.

The company traces its origins to 1963, when Dick Portillo opened a small hot dog stand called The Dog House in Villa Park, Illinois. Portillo’s has since expanded from its Chicago-area roots into a multi-state restaurant business, with locations primarily in the United States.