Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.33.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of Potbelly from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Potbelly in a research report on Monday, August 12th.

Potbelly Stock Up 0.2 %

Potbelly stock opened at $8.24 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.84. The stock has a market cap of $245.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.67 and a beta of 1.18. Potbelly has a 52 week low of $6.28 and a 52 week 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.

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

Insider Activity

In other Potbelly news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme acquired 23,394 shares of Potbelly stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.62 per share, with a total value of $154,868.28. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1,561,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,340,340.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Potbelly

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PBPB. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Potbelly by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 56,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 8,586 shares during the last quarter. Millrace Asset Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,391,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 45,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 19,118 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Potbelly by 28.9% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 243,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 54,667 shares during the period. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.