180 Degree Capital Corp., an investment management firm, recently released its first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In March, despite the market sell-off, the fund achieved a +4.7% gross total return from its cash and public-related securities, leading to a 2.8% gain in the NAV to $5.16. The firm believes that the economy will continue to show resilience, and its portfolio companies do not require lower rates to create value for shareholders. They benefit from positive economic trends and activism across many holdings. For more information on the fund’s top picks in 2024, please check its top five holdings.
180 Degree Capital Corp. highlighted stocks like Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) owns and operates Potbelly sandwich restaurants. The one-month return of Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) was -10.97%, and its shares gained 15.81% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 28, 2024, Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) stock closed at $9.01 per share with a market capitalization of $268.872 million.
180 Degree Capital Corp. stated the following regarding Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB): PBPB pre-announced another strong quarter with 6.4% growth in same-store sales and average weekly sales that exceeded estimates driven primarily by traffic growth. PBPB also noted 192 new shop commitments as part of the pre-announcement that was expanded to 202 when PBPB reported its full results in March 2024. PBPB provided long-term growth targets that supported its belief that the growth trends from 2024 will continue into the future.
In 2018, Potbelly traded at nearly $15 per share. As of the end of Q1 2024, the stock traded at 2/3 that price despite having better comps, a better management team, higher revenue, and a franchising-based growth strategy that didn’t exist back then.
For the quarter, PBPB increased NAV $0.25/share, or $2.5 million.”
A chef in a busy kitchen, adding the finishing touches to a signature sandwich.
Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 12 hedge fund portfolios held Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) at the end of the first quarter which was 10 in the previous quarter. Potbelly Corporation’s (NASDAQ:PBPB) first-quarter revenues decreased by approximately 6.0% to $111.2 million, mostly as a result of refranchising transaction from the previous year.
In another article, we discussed Potbelly Corporation (NASDAQ:PBPB) and shared 180 Degree Capital Corp’s views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
