Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Portillo's a "Hold": 14 analysts cover PTLO (1 sell, 9 hold, 4 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $7.64.
• Portillo's recent quarter beat estimates with EPS of $0.08 on $185.75M revenue; the company has a market cap of about $490.8M, a P/E of 24.07 and a 52‑week range of $4.41–$13.55.
• Insider activity shows a meaningful director purchase—286,000 shares bought at $5.18—while insiders own 6.14% of the stock and institutional investors hold roughly 98.34%.

Shares of Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.6364.

PTLO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Portillo's in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Portillo's in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Portillo's from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down from $8.00) on shares of Portillo's in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm began coverage on shares of Portillo's in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock.

Portillo's Stock Performance

PTLO stock opened at $6.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $490.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.34. Portillo's has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $13.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Portillo's had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 3.93%. The firm had revenue of $185.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Portillo's will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 286,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 416,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,156,175. This represents a 219.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo's

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its position in Portillo's by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 6,994,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,757,000 after buying an additional 155,205 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Portillo's by 16.8% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,777,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,428,000 after buying an additional 830,460 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Portillo's by 4.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,563,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,587,000 after buying an additional 149,931 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Portillo's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,350,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Portillo's by 11.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,131,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,750,000 after buying an additional 221,298 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company's stock.

About Portillo's

Portillo’s, Inc operates a fast‐casual restaurant chain best known for its Chicago‐style menu, featuring Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago‐style hot dogs, char‐grilled burgers, salads, crinkle‐cut fries and hand‐spun milkshakes. In addition to its signature sandwiches and dogs, the company offers a selection of desserts—including its famous chocolate cake and frozen custard—as well as catering services designed to bring its Midwestern flavors to corporate and social events.

The company was founded in 1963 by Dick Portillo, who opened the first Portillo’s in Villa Park, Illinois.

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