Fred Alger Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Portillo's Inc. $PTLO

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC has invested approximately $17.49 million in Portillo's Inc. by acquiring 1,470,908 shares, representing about 1.97% ownership of the company.
• Portillo's stock is currently trading at $6.60, which is a decrease of 3.2%, with a market capitalization of $497.31 million.
• Insider trading activity includes the CEO purchasing 11,320 shares and the General Counsel acquiring 27,000 shares, indicating notable confidence from management in the company's prospects.

Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,470,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,489,000. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 1.97% of Portillo's as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Portillo's by 58.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its position in Portillo's by 137.6% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position in Portillo's by 172.6% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Portillo's during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Portillo's by 40,394.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 7,271 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 130,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 130,250 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,320. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michelle Greig Hook purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.67 per share, for a total transaction of $306,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,016.35. This trade represents a 29.98% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 210,570 shares of company stock worth $1,614,474 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PTLO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Portillo's from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Stephens set a $10.00 price target on Portillo's in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Portillo's from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Portillo's from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Portillo's from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.38.

Portillo's Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ PTLO traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $6.13. 4,421,161 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,372,930. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.70 and a 200 day moving average of $10.82. The company has a market capitalization of $461.90 million, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.78. Portillo's Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.00 and a twelve month high of $15.78.

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12. Portillo's had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 4.19%.The business had revenue of $188.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Portillo's has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Portillo's Inc. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Portillo's

Portillo's Inc owns and operates fast casual restaurants in the United States. The company offers Chicago-style hot dogs and sausages, Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled burgers, chopped salads, crinkle-cut French fries, homemade chocolate cakes, and chocolate cake shake. It offers its products through its website, application, and certain third-party platforms.