Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Stock Rating Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on PTLO. UBS Group lowered their price target on Portillo’s from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Portillo’s from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Portillo’s from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Portillo’s to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.09.

Portillo’s Price Performance

PTLO opened at $6.64 on Friday. Portillo’s has a 12 month low of $3.29 and a 12 month high of $7.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $504.24 million, a P/E ratio of 30.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.83.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.03. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 3.41% and a net margin of 2.25%. The firm had revenue of $194.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Portillo’s will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Portillo’s

In other news, Director I Jr bought 65,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $299,979.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 551,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,532,624.30. This represents a 13.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Engaged Capital LLC boosted its stake in Portillo’s by 124.3% in the 1st quarter. Engaged Capital LLC now owns 3,442,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Portillo’s by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,454,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,893,000 after purchasing an additional 166,617 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake 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 valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 22,744 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in Portillo’s by 501.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 269,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 224,486 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Portillo’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting Portillo’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Portillo’s reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.06 per share, ahead of analyst estimates, while revenue rose 7% year over year to $194.1 million, slightly above consensus. The company also raised its full-year outlook. Portillo’s Shares Up 20%, Raises FY Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management introduced a strategic reset focused on improving profitability, and positive comparable sales were seen as an encouraging early sign. Portillo’s rallies after earnings and unveiling a new strategic plan
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised forecasts after the results. DA Davidson and Stephens each lifted their price target to $7, though both retained neutral or equal-weight ratings. Analysts Increase Forecasts
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha upgrade acknowledged the better comps but cautioned that Portillo’s still has work to do; the raised $7 targets also imply only limited upside from the quoted share price. Positive Comps Are a Good First Step

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.