Quest Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB)

Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) by 47.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,804 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,118 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Potbelly worth $127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 9,350.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 7,761 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Potbelly in the 1st quarter valued at about $271,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 35,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.60% of the company’s stock.

Potbelly Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PBPB opened at $7.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Potbelly Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.28 and a fifty-two week high of $14.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.08. The stock has a market cap of $234.43 million, a PE ratio of 65.25 and a beta of 1.18.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Potbelly Co. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum decreased 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme acquired 23,394 shares of Potbelly stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.62 per share, for a total transaction of $154,868.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,561,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,340,340.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

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.