Woodline Partners LP Grows Stake in Portillo's Inc. $PTLO

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Portillo's Inc. by 98.2%, now owning approximately $8.95 million in shares.
• Multiple institutional investors, including CWM LLC, North Star Investment Management, and GAMMA Investing LLC, have also significantly raised their positions in Portillo's during the same quarter.
• Despite a revenue increase of 3.6% year-over-year, Portillo's reported earnings per share of $0.12, matching consensus estimates but falling short of revenue targets.

Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO - Free Report) by 98.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 752,473 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 372,801 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 1.01% of Portillo's worth $8,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC raised its stake in Portillo's by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Portillo's by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Portillo's by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 82,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in Portillo's by 137.6% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Miller Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Portillo's by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC now owns 61,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Portillo's Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of Portillo's stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $6.47. 774,111 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,297,334. Portillo's Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.00 and a 52-week high of $15.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $487.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.46 and a 200-day moving average of $10.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12. Portillo's had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 4.19%.The company had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Portillo's Inc. will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Kelly M. Kaiser bought 27,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.68 per share, for a total transaction of $207,360.00. Following the acquisition, the general counsel owned 68,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $526,041.60. This trade represents a 65.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 130,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.68 per share, with a total value of $1,000,320.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 130,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,320. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 210,570 shares of company stock worth $1,614,474. 6.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PTLO. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Portillo's from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Portillo's from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stephens set a $10.00 target price on Portillo's in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Portillo's from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Portillo's in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.19.

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.