Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PBPB. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Potbelly in a report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Potbelly in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Potbelly Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PBPB opened at $9.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $276.39 million, a P/E ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.49. Potbelly has a one year low of $6.28 and a one year high of $13.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder David Nierenberg acquired 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.23 per share, with a total value of $70,148.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 101,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,441.54. This represents a 8.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Potbelly

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PBPB. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 51.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 101,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 34,539 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,332,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 1,101.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 7,956 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 177.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 22,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 902,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,527,000 after acquiring an additional 160,763 shares in the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.