Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Upgraded to “Buy” at Stifel Nicolaus

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $16.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $13.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 28.10% from the company’s current price.

PTLO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Portillo’s from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Portillo’s from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Portillo’s Price Performance

Shares of PTLO opened at $12.49 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.31 and a 200-day moving average of $11.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $927.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.72. Portillo’s has a 1 year low of $8.38 and a 1 year high of $16.17.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.05. Portillo’s had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 5.62%. The firm had revenue of $178.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Portillo’s will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portillo’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTLO. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Portillo’s by 10.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,788,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,086,000 after acquiring an additional 175,999 shares during the period. Engaged Capital LLC lifted its stake in Portillo’s by 121.5% in the third quarter. Engaged Capital LLC now owns 6,114,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354,513 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Portillo’s by 55.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 117,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 41,944 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Portillo’s in the third quarter valued at $12,337,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 207,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,801,000 after buying an additional 70,409 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.