Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Portillo's Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $12.49, but opened at $12.95. Portillo's shares last traded at $13.35, with a volume of 1,048,749 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Portillo's in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Portillo's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $13.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Portillo's from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Portillo's Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $993.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.72. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $10.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.32.

Portillo's (NASDAQ:PTLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.05. Portillo's had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 5.62%. The firm had revenue of $178.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Portillo's Inc. will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portillo's

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Engaged Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Portillo's by 121.5% during the third quarter. Engaged Capital LLC now owns 6,114,956 shares of the company's stock worth $82,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354,513 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Portillo's during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,337,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Portillo's by 307.9% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 522,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,079,000 after acquiring an additional 394,479 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Portillo's by 499.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 392,167 shares of the company's stock worth $3,812,000 after purchasing an additional 326,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Portillo's by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,272,214 shares of the company's stock worth $17,137,000 after purchasing an additional 288,675 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company's stock.

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.