Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Potbelly Corporation $PBPB

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Potbelly Corporation by 35%, selling 450,000 shares, and now owns 837,355 shares valued at approximately $7.96 million.
• Potbelly's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.09, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08, while revenues reached $123.71 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Potbelly, with Benchmark raising its price target to $18.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among other research reports.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB - Free Report) by 35.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 837,355 shares of the company's stock after selling 450,000 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.78% of Potbelly worth $7,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 463,275 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Potbelly by 162.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 386,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,675,000 after purchasing an additional 239,283 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Potbelly during the first quarter worth $2,882,000. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in Potbelly during the first quarter worth $2,873,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Potbelly by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,013 shares during the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Potbelly Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PBPB traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.93. The stock had a trading volume of 178,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,118. Potbelly Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.27 and a fifty-two week high of $13.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.85. The stock has a market cap of $391.26 million, a P/E ratio of 36.94 and a beta of 1.50.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Potbelly had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 2.30%.The company had revenue of $123.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.65 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Potbelly Corporation will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Potbelly from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Potbelly has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.00.

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.