Robert W. Baird Upgrades Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) to Hold

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Portillo’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Roth Capital set a $8.00 price objective on Portillo’s in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Portillo’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.92.

Portillo’s Stock Performance

PTLO opened at $4.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $368.31 million, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.56. Portillo’s has a 52-week low of $3.78 and a 52-week high of $7.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4.63 and its 200-day moving average is $4.94.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 65,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.59 per share, for a total transaction of $299,979.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 551,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,624.30. This represents a 13.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Portillo’s by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 6,994,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,757,000 after acquiring an additional 155,205 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Portillo’s by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,777,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,428,000 after acquiring an additional 830,460 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Portillo’s by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,563,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,587,000 after purchasing an additional 149,931 shares in the last quarter. Engaged Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Portillo’s in the 4th quarter worth about $10,350,000. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.