Soros Capital Management LLC Purchases 357,561 Shares of Portillo's Inc. $PTLO

Key Points

• Soros Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Portillo's Inc. by 486.8% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 357,561 shares, bringing its total ownership to 431,012 shares.
• Several hedge funds, including CWM LLC and North Star Investment Management Corp., have also increased their positions in Portillo's, indicating growing institutional interest with 98.34% of the company's stock now held by institutional investors.
• Recent analyst ratings have been mixed, with several firms lowering their price targets, while the consensus rating on the stock is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $12.50.

Soros Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO - Free Report) by 486.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 431,012 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 357,561 shares during the quarter. Portillo's accounts for about 1.3% of Soros Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Soros Capital Management LLC owned about 0.58% of Portillo's worth $5,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Portillo's by 137.6% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Portillo's by 172.6% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 3,416 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Portillo's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Portillo's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.34% of the company's stock.

Portillo's Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PTLO stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $7.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,080,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,330,763. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $533.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.81. Portillo's Inc. has a one year low of $6.88 and a one year high of $15.78.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Portillo's

In other news, General Counsel Kelly M. Kaiser purchased 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.68 per share, with a total value of $207,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 68,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $526,041.60. The trade was a 65.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michelle Greig Hook purchased 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.67 per share, for a total transaction of $306,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,330,016.35. This represents a 29.98% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 210,570 shares of company stock worth $1,614,474. Company insiders own 6.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PTLO shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Portillo's in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Portillo's from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Portillo's from $17.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Portillo's from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Portillo's from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.50.

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.