Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at DA Davidson

DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $5.50 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on PTLO. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Portillo’s from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down from $8.00) on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.50.

Portillo’s Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:PTLO traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,416,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,414,894. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $382.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.75. Portillo’s has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $14.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.40 and its 200-day moving average is $5.60.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.03. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 2.64%.The company had revenue of $185.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Portillo’s will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Portillo’s during the second quarter valued at about $4,668,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Portillo’s during the second quarter worth about $1,665,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Portillo’s by 16.9% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 577,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,744,000 after acquiring an additional 83,500 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Portillo’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,023,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Portillo’s by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,350,000 after acquiring an additional 52,875 shares in the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.