Short Interest in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Increases By 54.3%

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,280,000 shares, a growth of 54.3% from the February 28th total of 829,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 252,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PBPB shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut Potbelly from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Thursday, March 20th.

Potbelly Price Performance

Potbelly stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.34. 149,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,724. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.85. The company has a market cap of $279.08 million, a P/E ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Potbelly has a twelve month low of $6.28 and a twelve month high of $13.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder David Nierenberg bought 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.23 per share, with a total value of $70,148.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 101,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,441.54. This represents a 8.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBPB. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,935,000 after purchasing an additional 49,000 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Potbelly by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 986,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,291,000 after buying an additional 83,748 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Potbelly by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 617,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,815,000 after acquiring an additional 8,863 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Potbelly by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 539,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,086,000 after acquiring an additional 159,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monimus Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Potbelly in the fourth quarter worth about $4,901,000. 72.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.