Ancora Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Potbelly Corporation $PBPB

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Potbelly Corporation by 31.2%, selling 147,932 shares, and now owns approximately 1.08% of the company.
• Potbelly's most recent quarterly earnings report shows an EPS of $0.09, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.08, with revenue of $123.71 million.
• Equities analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Potbelly, with a price target increase from $17.00 to $18.00 by Benchmark.

Ancora Advisors LLC cut its stake in Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB - Free Report) by 31.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 326,721 shares of the company's stock after selling 147,932 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 1.08% of Potbelly worth $3,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Next Century Growth Investors LLC raised its stake in shares of Potbelly by 298.3% during the 1st quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 618,591 shares of the company's stock worth $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 463,275 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 162.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 386,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,675,000 after buying an additional 239,283 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Potbelly during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,882,000. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Potbelly during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,873,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,751 shares of the company's stock worth $2,108,000 after acquiring an additional 6,013 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark increased their price target on Potbelly from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Potbelly Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of PBPB stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $12.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 140,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,958. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.84. The company has a market capitalization of $385.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 1.50. Potbelly Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.27 and a fifty-two week high of $13.67.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Potbelly had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 2.30%.The business had revenue of $123.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.65 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Potbelly Corporation will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

About Potbelly

Potbelly Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises Potbelly sandwich shops in the United States. The company was formerly known as Potbelly Sandwich Works, Inc and changed its name to Potbelly Corporation in 2002. Potbelly Corporation was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.