Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as "Equal Weight" by Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens reaffirmed an “Equal Weight” rating on Portillo’s, with a $5.00 price target implying 3.63% upside. The broader analyst consensus is “Hold,” with an average target of $5.66.
• Portillo’s shares rose 3.5% to $4.83 in Thursday trading. The company’s latest quarterly results met EPS expectations at $0.09, while revenue increased 5.6% year over year to $198.95 million, slightly below estimates.
• Insider and institutional activity was generally supportive: a director purchased nearly 65,355 shares, while several institutions increased their holdings. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company.

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reaffirmed by Stephens in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $5.00 target price on the stock. Stephens' price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.63% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PTLO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Portillo's in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised Portillo's to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Portillo's from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Portillo's from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Portillo's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.66.

Portillo's Stock Up 3.5%

NASDAQ PTLO traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $4.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,349,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,650,266. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $4.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.58. Portillo's has a twelve month low of $3.29 and a twelve month high of $6.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.97, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Insider Activity at Portillo's

In other news, Director I Jr acquired 65,355 shares of Portillo's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.59 per share, for a total transaction of $299,979.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 551,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,532,624.30. This trade represents a 13.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo's

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTLO. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Portillo's by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,454,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,893,000 after acquiring an additional 166,617 shares during the period. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Portillo's by 34.0% in the 2nd 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 period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Portillo's by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 131,888 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 10,570 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in Portillo's by 501.5% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 269,248 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 224,486 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Portillo's by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 65,667 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 14,973 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Portillo's Company Profile

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.