Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Receives $14.33 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.33.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on shares of Potbelly from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Potbelly in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Potbelly Price Performance

PBPB opened at $8.34 on Tuesday. Potbelly has a twelve month low of $6.28 and a twelve month high of $14.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $248.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.50 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.72.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $119.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.00 million. Potbelly had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 21.42%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Potbelly will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Potbelly

In other news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme bought 23,394 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.62 per share, with a total value of $154,868.28. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,561,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,340,340.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Potbelly

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the first quarter worth $1,411,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Potbelly in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,820,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Potbelly by 17.7% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,011,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,121,000 after acquiring an additional 152,200 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Potbelly by 224.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 300,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 208,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in shares of Potbelly by 73.1% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 45,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 19,118 shares during the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Potbelly Company Profile

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.