Lake Street Capital Downgrades Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) to Hold

Key Points

• Lake Street Capital has reaffirmed a Hold rating for Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) and raised its price target to $17.12, indicating a potential upside from the current stock price.
• Potbelly's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.09, surpassing analyst estimates, with revenues of $123.71 million for the quarter.
• Institutional investors hold 72.60% of Potbelly's stock, reflecting strong interest from large organizations in its growth and performance.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Lake Street Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $17.12 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $15.00. Lake Street Capital's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.59% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on PBPB. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Potbelly from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Craig Hallum downgraded Potbelly from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $17.12 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.41.

Potbelly Price Performance

Shares of PBPB stock opened at $17.02 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $12.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.93. Potbelly has a one year low of $7.27 and a one year high of $17.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $515.04 million, a PE ratio of 48.63 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Potbelly

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Monimus Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Potbelly by 32.6% in the second quarter. Monimus Capital Management LP now owns 671,095 shares of the company's stock worth $8,221,000 after acquiring an additional 165,151 shares during the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its stake in shares of Potbelly by 298.3% in the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 618,591 shares of the company's stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 463,275 shares during the last quarter. Archon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Potbelly by 3.4% in the second quarter. Archon Capital Management LLC now owns 546,417 shares of the company's stock worth $6,694,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Potbelly by 21.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 471,237 shares of the company's stock worth $5,773,000 after acquiring an additional 84,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Potbelly by 31.9% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 445,780 shares of the company's stock worth $5,461,000 after acquiring an additional 107,847 shares during the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.