JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 31,071 Shares of Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,124 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,071 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.33% of Potbelly worth $924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Potbelly during the 4th quarter worth approximately $520,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Potbelly by 247.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,780 shares of the company's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 28,342 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Potbelly by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 539,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,086,000 after purchasing an additional 159,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Potbelly by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 608,336 shares of the company's stock worth $5,074,000 after purchasing an additional 21,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Potbelly during the 4th quarter worth about $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PBPB. StockNews.com downgraded Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Potbelly in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Potbelly in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder David Nierenberg acquired 22,169 shares of Potbelly stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.36 per share, with a total value of $207,501.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,162,203.12. This represents a 21.73 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Potbelly Trading Up 5.1 %

Shares of PBPB stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 273,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,799. The company has a market cap of $263.10 million, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.49. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.91. Potbelly Co. has a 52 week low of $6.28 and a 52 week high of $13.48.

Potbelly Company Profile

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.