Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Stock Price Up 10.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) were up 10.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $5.04 and last traded at $5.01. Approximately 4,792,524 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 118% from the average daily volume of 2,195,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stephens cut their price target on Portillo’s from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Portillo’s in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.50.

Portillo’s Trading Up 10.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.87. The stock has a market cap of $377.65 million, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 1.74.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $181.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.77 million. Portillo’s had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 3.35%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Portillo’s Inc. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Portillo’s by 5,110.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 8,688 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Portillo’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Portillo’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,935,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Portillo’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Portillo’s by 1,628.4% in the third quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 234,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 220,777 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.