Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $12.32, but opened at $12.79. Portillo’s shares last traded at $13.03, with a volume of 146,666 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PTLO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Portillo’s from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Portillo’s from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Portillo’s from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Portillo’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.29.

Portillo’s Stock Down 7.9 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.22. The company has a market cap of $915.38 million, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.80. 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 (NASDAQ:PTLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $184.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Portillo’s Inc. will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portillo’s

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

About Portillo’s

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.