DA Davidson Initiates Coverage on Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO)

Analysts at DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on PTLO. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price objective on Portillo’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated 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 target (down from $8.00) on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Portillo’s from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Portillo’s from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Portillo’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.72.

Portillo’s Price Performance

Shares of Portillo’s stock opened at $5.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $386.70 million, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.62. Portillo’s has a twelve month low of $4.41 and a twelve month high of $14.40. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Portillo’s will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTLO. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Portillo’s by 135.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Portillo’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Portillo’s by 176.6% during the 3rd 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. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.