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

Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO)’s stock price 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 traded.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Portillo’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Portillo’s from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Portillo’s in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Portillo’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portillo’s

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Portillo’s by 100.0% in 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 period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Portillo’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Portillo’s by 172.6% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Portillo’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Portillo’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Portillo’s Stock Up 8.5 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a P/E/G ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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.