AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) by 36.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,214 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,747 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.37% of Potbelly worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Potbelly in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Potbelly by 9,350.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 7,761 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Potbelly by 47.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,118 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Potbelly in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Potbelly during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. 72.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Potbelly Price Performance

PBPB stock opened at $8.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $244.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.17 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $7.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.49. Potbelly Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.28 and a fifty-two week high of $14.36.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 21.42%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Potbelly Co. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PBPB shares. Craig Hallum decreased their price target 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 reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Potbelly in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme bought 23,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.62 per share, with a total value of $154,868.28. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,561,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,340,340.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.10% 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.