Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Portillo's Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with five recommending a hold and five a buy.
• The average twelve-month price target for Portillo's stock is $12.50, with recent price targets being adjusted down by several analysts.
• Insider activity includes a significant sale of 10 million shares by Director Berkshire Partners, while CFO Michelle Greig Hook purchased 40,000 shares, reflecting mixed insider confidence.

Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.50.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Portillo's from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Portillo's in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Portillo's from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Portillo's from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price 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.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Portillo's

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTLO. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Portillo's by 135.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,596 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Portillo's during the second quarter worth about $32,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Portillo's by 58.3% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in Portillo's by 137.6% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 2,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Portillo's by 172.6% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,395 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 3,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company's stock.

Portillo's Stock Down 2.0%

PTLO traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.21. 2,850,438 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,113,040. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $10.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.74. Portillo's has a fifty-two week low of $7.20 and a fifty-two week high of $15.78. The stock has a market cap of $543.27 million, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.81.

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

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.