Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $13.57, but opened at $14.61. Portillo’s shares last traded at $14.71, with a volume of 494,039 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $184.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.16 million. Portillo’s had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 5.62%. Portillo’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Portillo’s from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Portillo’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $13.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Portillo’s from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Portillo’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portillo’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in Portillo’s by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Portillo’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Portillo’s by 172.6% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 3,416 shares during the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Portillo’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Portillo’s during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Portillo’s Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.05. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.48, a P/E/G ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.38.

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.