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

Shares of Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.33.

Several research analysts have issued reports on PBPB shares. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on Potbelly from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme acquired 45,772 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.48 per share, for a total transaction of $296,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,546,211 shares in the company, valued at $10,019,447.28. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Potbelly

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Potbelly during the first quarter valued at about $5,820,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 208,170 shares in the last quarter. Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in Potbelly in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,208,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 152.1% during the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 293,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 177,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Potbelly by 17.7% during 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 during the period. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Potbelly Price Performance

Shares of PBPB stock opened at $7.71 on Friday. Potbelly has a 52 week low of $6.28 and a 52 week high of $14.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.84 million, a PE ratio of 64.25 and a beta of 1.18. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.53 and its 200-day moving average is $9.37.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Potbelly had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $119.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Potbelly will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.