Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Shares Bought by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,976 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,480 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Potbelly were worth $829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PBPB. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Potbelly by 1,101.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 7,956 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Potbelly in the fourth quarter valued at $121,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Potbelly by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Potbelly by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 6,610 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Potbelly by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 31,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 1,456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PBPB. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Potbelly in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Potbelly from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Potbelly Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PBPB opened at $8.24 on Friday. Potbelly Co. has a 1 year low of $6.28 and a 1 year high of $13.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.62 million, a P/E ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 1.38.

Insider Transactions at Potbelly

In related news, major shareholder David Nierenberg purchased 22,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.36 per share, for a total transaction of $207,501.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 124,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,162,203.12. The trade was a 21.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.10% 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.