Brokerages Set Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) PT at $14.33

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.33.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PBPB. Craig Hallum cut their target price on Potbelly from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Potbelly in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Potbelly Trading Up 3.5 %

PBPB opened at $8.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $246.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.92 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.80. Potbelly has a one year low of $6.28 and a one year high of $14.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $119.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.00 million. Potbelly had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 7.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Potbelly will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Potbelly

In related news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme bought 23,394 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.62 per share, for a total transaction of $154,868.28. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,561,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,340,340.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Potbelly

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PBPB. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 56,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 8,586 shares during the period. Millrace Asset Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Potbelly during the fourth quarter worth $1,391,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 73.1% during the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 45,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 19,118 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Potbelly during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Potbelly by 28.9% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 243,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 54,667 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.60% of the company’s stock.

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.