Cerity Partners LLC Lowers Position in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 279,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,570 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.95% of Potbelly worth $2,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Potbelly by 34.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,566,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,216,000 after buying an additional 405,497 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Potbelly by 24.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 4,918 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Potbelly by 544.3% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 12,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 10,968 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the third quarter worth $165,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Potbelly during the third quarter valued at about $775,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark upgraded Potbelly from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 12th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Potbelly in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Potbelly from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.67.

Potbelly Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PBPB opened at $10.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.78. Potbelly Co. has a 12-month low of $7.12 and a 12-month high of $14.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.41 million, a P/E ratio of 64.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Potbelly had a return on equity of 50.06% and a net margin of 1.04%. The firm had revenue of $125.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.80 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Potbelly Co. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

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.