Contrasting Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) and Giggles N’ Hugs (OTCMKTS:GIGL)

Giggles N’ Hugs (OTCMKTS:GIGL) and Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Giggles N’ Hugs has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Portillo’s has a beta of 1.75, meaning that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.3% of Portillo’s shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Portillo’s shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Giggles N’ Hugs and Portillo’s”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Giggles N’ Hugs	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Portillo’s	$710.55 million	0.61	$29.52 million	$0.36	15.97

Portillo’s has higher revenue and earnings than Giggles N’ Hugs.

Profitability

This table compares Giggles N’ Hugs and Portillo’s’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Giggles N’ Hugs	N/A	N/A	N/A
Portillo’s	3.35%	4.99%	1.59%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Giggles N’ Hugs and Portillo’s, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Giggles N’ Hugs	0	0	0	0	0.00
Portillo’s	1	7	3	0	2.18

Portillo’s has a consensus target price of $7.72, suggesting a potential upside of 34.30%. Given Portillo’s’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Portillo’s is more favorable than Giggles N’ Hugs.

Summary

Portillo’s beats Giggles N’ Hugs on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Giggles N’ Hugs

Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of restaurants. It offers an upscale family-friendly atmosphere with a play area dedicated to children ages 10 and younger. The restaurant has a menu made from fresh, organic foods with the play elements and entertainment. The company was founded by Joey Parsi and Dorsa Foroughi on September 17, 2004 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

About Portillo’s

Portillo’s Inc. owns and operates fast casual restaurants in the United States. The company offers Chicago-style hot dogs and sausages, Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled burgers, chopped salads, crinkle-cut French fries, homemade chocolate cakes, and chocolate cake shake. It offers its products through its website, application, and certain third-party platforms. Portillo’s Inc. was founded in 1963 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.