Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Short Interest Down 15.6% in October

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PBPB has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Potbelly news, major shareholder Nierenberg Investment Manageme purchased 23,394 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.62 per share, with a total value of $154,868.28. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,561,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,340,340.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Potbelly

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBPB. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Potbelly during the first quarter worth $5,820,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Potbelly by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,011,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,121,000 after acquiring an additional 152,200 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Potbelly in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,070,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Potbelly by 224.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Potbelly by 8.8% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 61,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 4,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.60% of the company’s stock.

Potbelly Stock Down 2.1 %

PBPB stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.51. The company had a trading volume of 127,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,075. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Potbelly has a 1 year low of $6.28 and a 1 year high of $14.36. The company has a market capitalization of $224.85 million, a P/E ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.19.

Potbelly (NASDAQ:PBPB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Potbelly had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 7.58%. The firm had revenue of $119.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Potbelly will post 0.2 earnings per share 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.