Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.67.

Several brokerages have commented on PBPB. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Potbelly in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Benchmark raised Potbelly from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Potbelly from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Potbelly

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Potbelly in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Potbelly in the third quarter worth about $854,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Potbelly by 30.7% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 737,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,756,000 after purchasing an additional 173,227 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Potbelly in the third quarter worth about $375,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Potbelly in the third quarter worth about $775,000. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Potbelly Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PBPB opened at $10.12 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.80 and its 200 day moving average is $11.00. Potbelly has a fifty-two week low of $7.12 and a fifty-two week high of $14.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.36 million, a PE ratio of 62.81 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The company had revenue of $125.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.80 million. Potbelly had a return on equity of 50.06% and a net margin of 1.04%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Potbelly will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

About Potbelly

Potbelly Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises Potbelly sandwich shops in the United States. The company was formerly known as Potbelly Sandwich Works, Inc and changed its name to Potbelly Corporation in 2002. Potbelly Corporation was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.