Potbelly’s (PBPB) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $16.00 target price on the stock.

Potbelly Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PBPB opened at $9.66 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.69. Potbelly has a 12-month low of $6.28 and a 12-month high of $13.48. The firm has a market cap of $289.19 million, a PE ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder David Nierenberg purchased 7,600 shares of Potbelly stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.23 per share, for a total transaction of $70,148.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 101,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,441.54. The trade was a 8.05 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Potbelly

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBPB. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Potbelly by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Potbelly by 1,101.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 7,956 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Potbelly by 662.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 10,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.60% of the company’s stock.

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.