Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Portillo's shares gapped up from $7.42 to $7.94 after significant insider buying, including notable purchases by the General Counsel and CFO totaling 67,000 shares.
• Several analysts recently adjusted their target prices for Portillo's, with UBS Group reducing it from $12 to $9 and maintaining a "neutral" rating, while Guggenheim set a new buy rating at $17.
• Portillo's reported earnings of $0.12 per share for the last quarter, slightly missing revenue expectations with $188.46 million, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.6%.

Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $7.42, but opened at $7.94. Portillo's shares last traded at $7.86, with a volume of 939,577 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Michael Osanloo bought 11,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.42 per share, with a total value of $83,994.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 63,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,812.14. The trade was a 21.77% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Kelly M. Kaiser purchased 27,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.68 per share, with a total value of $207,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the general counsel owned 68,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $526,041.60. The trade was a 65.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In related news, CFO Michelle Greig Hook purchased 40,000 shares of Portillo's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.67 per share, for a total transaction of $306,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,330,016.35. This represents a 29.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PTLO. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Portillo's from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Portillo's from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Portillo's from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Portillo's from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens cut 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 research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.50.

Portillo's Trading Down 4.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $576.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm's 50-day moving average is $10.70 and its 200 day moving average is $11.93.

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12. The firm had revenue of $188.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.04 million. Portillo's had a net margin of 4.19% and a return on equity of 6.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Portillo's Inc. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Portillo's

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTLO. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Portillo's during the 1st quarter valued at $1,445,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Portillo's in the 4th quarter worth about $241,000. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Portillo's in the 4th quarter worth about $1,827,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Portillo's by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,613,012 shares of the company's stock worth $19,179,000 after buying an additional 392,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Portillo's by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 502,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 32,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.34% of the company's stock.

Portillo's Company Profile

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.