Insider Buying: Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Major Shareholder Buys 22,169 Shares of Stock

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report) major shareholder David Nierenberg bought 22,169 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.36 per share, for a total transaction of $207,501.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 124,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,162,203.12. The trade was a 21.73 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

David Nierenberg also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 7th, David Nierenberg purchased 7,600 shares of Potbelly stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.23 per share, for a total transaction of $70,148.00.

Potbelly Stock Performance

NASDAQ PBPB traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $9.87. 235,229 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,955. The firm has a market cap of $294.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $11.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.89. Potbelly Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.28 and a fifty-two week high of $13.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Potbelly

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 122.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 67,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 36,930 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Potbelly in the third quarter valued at about $2,332,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $520,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 247.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,780 shares of the company's stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 28,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 539,915 shares of the company's stock worth $5,086,000 after acquiring an additional 159,900 shares during the period. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PBPB. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Potbelly from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Thursday, March 20th.

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.