Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens reissued an Equal Weight rating on Portillo's with a $6.00 price target, implying roughly a 24% upside from the stock's current level.
• Portillo's reported an EPS miss (‑$0.01 vs. $0.01 expected) and slightly below‑forecast revenue, and the stock fell about 15.5% to $4.84 on the news.
• Director Eugene I. Lee Jr. bought 286,000 shares at $5.18—boosting his stake by ~219.6%—a notable insider purchase amid the share weakness.

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reissued by research analysts at Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens' price target indicates a potential upside of 24.10% from the stock's current price.

PTLO has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Portillo's in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Portillo's from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $6.00 target price (down from $8.00) on shares of Portillo's in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm started coverage on Portillo's in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 target price on Portillo's in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Portillo's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.64.

Portillo's Stock Down 15.5%

NASDAQ PTLO traded down $0.89 on Tuesday, reaching $4.84. The company had a trading volume of 2,471,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,147. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.09 million, a PE ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.72. Portillo's has a 1 year low of $4.41 and a 1 year high of $13.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.59 and a 200-day moving average of $5.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $182.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $183.27 million. Portillo's had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 3.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Portillo's will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Portillo's

In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 286,000 shares of Portillo's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 416,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,156,175. This trade represents a 219.58% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portillo's

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTLO. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Portillo's during the third quarter valued at $1,935,000. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Portillo's during the third quarter valued at $840,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Portillo's during the third quarter valued at $477,000. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Portillo's during the third quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Portillo's by 176.6% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893 shares during the period. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Portillo's Company Profile

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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