Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Stock Holdings Lessened by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 923,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,650 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Potbelly were worth $8,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Potbelly by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 101,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 34,539 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Potbelly during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,332,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Potbelly by 1,101.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 7,956 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Potbelly by 177.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 22,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Potbelly by 21.7% during the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 902,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,527,000 after buying an additional 160,763 shares during the period. 72.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Potbelly Stock Performance

Shares of PBPB opened at $9.56 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.82. Potbelly Co. has a 52 week low of $6.28 and a 52 week high of $13.48. The stock has a market cap of $285.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Insider Transactions at Potbelly

In other news, major shareholder David Nierenberg bought 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.23 per share, for a total transaction of $70,148.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 101,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,441.54. This represents a 8.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.