Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $7.02 and last traded at $6.9750, with a volume of 852,184 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.64.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Portillo’s to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Portillo’s from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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. Stephens raised their target price on Portillo’s from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Portillo’s from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.09.

Insider Transactions at Portillo’s

In other Portillo’s news, Director I Jr bought 65,355 shares of Portillo’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $299,979.45. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 551,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,532,624.30. The trade was a 13.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Portillo’s

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Essential Partners LLC boosted its position in Portillo’s by 83,350.0% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 5,001 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Portillo’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position 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 worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 27,014 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Portillo’s by 132.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 70,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 40,200 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Portillo’s Price Performance

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 simple moving average is $4.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.83. The stock has a market cap of $530.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 1.51.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.03. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 3.41% and a net margin of 2.25%. The business had revenue of $194.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.18 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Portillo’s Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portillo’s Company Profile

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.