Short Interest in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Decreases By 15.6%

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 688,100 shares, a drop of 15.6% from the September 30th total of 815,100 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 173,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Potbelly Stock Up 1.2 %

PBPB stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $7.87. 16,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,503. 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 firm has a market cap of $234.86 million, a P/E ratio of 64.83 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.25. Potbelly has a 1-year low of $6.28 and a 1-year high of $14.36.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.08 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $119.00 million. Potbelly had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 21.42%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Potbelly will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Potbelly news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme bought 45,772 shares of Potbelly stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.48 per share, with a total value of $296,602.56. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1,546,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,019,447.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Potbelly

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PBPB. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,820,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 224.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 300,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 208,170 shares in the last quarter. Western Standard LLC bought a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the first quarter worth $2,208,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 152.1% in the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 293,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 177,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Potbelly by 17.7% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,011,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,121,000 after purchasing an additional 152,200 shares in the last quarter. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PBPB. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on shares of Potbelly from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

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.