Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) Earns “Market Perform” Rating from William Blair

William Blair restated their market perform rating on shares of Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) in a research report report published on Thursday,RTT News reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PBPB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Potbelly from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Potbelly in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Potbelly Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ PBPB opened at $9.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Potbelly has a 52 week low of $6.28 and a 52 week high of $13.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.00 million, a PE ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder David Nierenberg bought 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.23 per share, for a total transaction of $70,148.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 101,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,441.54. This represents a 8.05 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $10,935,000 after acquiring an additional 49,000 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 986,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,291,000 after acquiring an additional 83,748 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 617,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,815,000 after acquiring an additional 8,863 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 42.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Monimus Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,901,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.60% of the company’s stock.

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.