William Blair Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB)

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by stock analysts at William Blair in a note issued to investors on Thursday,RTT News reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Potbelly from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Potbelly Stock Performance

Potbelly stock opened at $9.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $278.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46 and a beta of 1.50. Potbelly has a fifty-two week low of $6.28 and a fifty-two week high of $13.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.77.

Insider Activity at Potbelly

In related news, major shareholder David Nierenberg purchased 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.23 per share, for a total transaction of $70,148.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 101,998 shares in the company, valued at $941,441.54. This trade represents a 8.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Potbelly

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PBPB. State of Wyoming grew its position in Potbelly by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Potbelly by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 31,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Potbelly by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Potbelly during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Potbelly by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is currently 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.