Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.33.

Several research firms have recently commented on PBPB. Craig Hallum lowered their target price on Potbelly from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme acquired 23,394 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.62 per share, with a total value of $154,868.28. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,561,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,340,340.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Potbelly

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 17.7% during 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. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the first quarter valued at about $5,820,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Potbelly by 224.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 300,736 shares of the company's stock worth $3,642,000 after buying an additional 208,170 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 152.1% during the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 293,570 shares of the company's stock worth $2,357,000 after buying an additional 177,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $2,951,000 after buying an additional 54,667 shares in the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Potbelly Price Performance

Shares of Potbelly stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.47. 87,068 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,620. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $252.76 million, a P/E ratio of 70.58 and a beta of 1.19. Potbelly has a 52 week low of $6.28 and a 52 week high of $14.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.37.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $119.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Potbelly will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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.