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

Shares of Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.67.

PBPB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark raised Potbelly from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 12th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Potbelly from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Potbelly Stock Down 0.5 %

Potbelly stock opened at $9.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $293.86 million, a P/E ratio of 62.19 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.99. Potbelly has a 1-year low of $7.12 and a 1-year high of $14.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The company had revenue of $125.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.80 million. Potbelly had a net margin of 1.04% and a return on equity of 50.06%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Potbelly will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 17.4% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 86,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after buying an additional 12,758 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 8.8% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 61,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 4,971 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 7.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Potbelly in the first quarter valued at about $1,411,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Potbelly by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 243,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,951,000 after acquiring an additional 54,667 shares in the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Potbelly

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.