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How to Buy Portillo’s Stock [2024] | Invest in PTLO

How to Buy Portillo's Stock (PTLO)? Step-by-Step Guide
Diana Paluteder

The restaurant industry is big business, with an array of options, from fast-casual brands to high-end steakhouse chains. Want to add a restaurant stock to your investment menu? Consider investing in Portillo’s, a fast-casual joint serving all the mouthwatering Chicago-style classics. This guide will analyze the most important facts about the restaurant chain, explain how to buy Portillo’s stock, and provide an overview of the best brokers to use.

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Securities trading offered by eToro USA Securities, Inc. (“the BD”), member of FINRA and SIPC. Cryptocurrency offered by eToro USA LLC (“the MSB”) (NMLS: 1769299) and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. Investing involves risk, and content is provided for educational purposes only, does not imply a recommendation, and is not a guarantee of future performance. Finbold.com is not an affiliate and may be compensated if you access certain products or services offered by the MSB and/or the BD

What is Portillo’s?

The restaurant chain serves customers across approximately 70 locations in nine states, including Illinois, California, Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota. It is available through various access modes, including dine-in, drive-thrus, delivery, and catering. 

Portillo’s IPO

Portillo’s IPO took place in October 2021 when the company went public through an initial public offering (IPO), raising more than $405.4 million. Portillo’s stock trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker PTLO.

Step-by-step process on how and where to buy Portillo’s stock

Portillo’s is a publicly-traded company, which means you can buy PTLO stock through a broker. The steps involved in purchasing shares of Portillo’s are summarized in the following section in detail.

Step 1: Choose a broker

To buy Portillo’s stock online, you’ll need a brokerage account. While several platforms are available, the one that suits you will depend on your investment style (long-term buy-and-hold strategy or active day trading) and needs (e.g., whether you want to trade more advanced financial products such as options). When assessing brokers, consider the following features:

  • Fees: Brokerage fees are a type of fee collected by brokers to execute your transactions or provide specialized services. Fortunately, today, the vast majority of online brokers offer commission-free stock and exchange-traded funds (ETF) trading;
  • Security: Pick a trustworthy broker by ensuring it is fully licensed by state regulatory authorities as well as FINRA and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
  • Trading tools: Active traders may prefer brokerage accounts with all the bells and whistles. Some brokers offer fully customizable platforms with comprehensive analysis tools or access to additional data for an extra cost. If such additions are unnecessary for your purposes, avoid paying extra for them. It’s typically a good idea to look for a user-friendly platform with a competitive fee structure if you are new to stock trading. A dedicated section with investing tips and tricks is a bonus;
  • Access to market data: You should search for a platform that allows access to solid market research and reporting tools to help you trade confidently with updated data;
  • Fractional stock trading: Fractional shares allow investors to buy stock or ETFs by the dollar amount instead of the number of shares; especially helpful for investors who don’t have unlimited capital but want to build a diversified portfolio or are looking to set up a dollar-cost averaging strategy. 

Where can I buy Portillo’s stock?

Thanks to various online brokers, access to the stock market has never been more accessible as well as affordable. However, choosing the right broker optimized for your needs (investing goals, educational tools, trading style) is critical for a stress-free trading experience. 

To securely invest in Portillo’s and buy PTLO stock, consider these brokers:

1. eToro

  • Commission-free stock trading; 
  • 2,000+ stocks from 17 exchanges;
  • Fractional shares available;
  • User-friendly platform.

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  • Invest in 2,800+ stocks and other assets including 70+ cryptocurrencies and commodities.

  • 0% commission on buying stocks - buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.

  • Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.

  • eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.

30+ million Users
Securities trading offered by eToro USA Securities, Inc. (“the BD”), member of FINRA and SIPC. Cryptocurrency offered by eToro USA LLC (“the MSB”) (NMLS: 1769299) and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. Investing involves risk, and content is provided for educational purposes only, does not imply a recommendation, and is not a guarantee of future performance. Finbold.com is not an affiliate and may be compensated if you access certain products or services offered by the MSB and/or the BD

2. Interactive Brokers (IBKR)

  • Commission-free stock trading;
  • Global stock-trading on 90+ market centers;
  • Fractional shares available;
  • Extra income on fully paid shares;
  • Lowest financing rates for margin accounts in the industry;
  • No account minimum. 

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  • IBKR pays up to 4.58% interest on cash balances of $10k or more

Up to 4.58% interest on balance*

Step 2: Fund your account

Once you have decided on a broker, it’s time to fund your account. Remember, it can sometimes take up to three days for the money to reach your account.

Step 3: Research the company 

Understanding a company’s financial strength is the most crucial step in analyzing a stock. So start your research by getting an overview of the company, including its strengths and weaknesses, primary competitors, industry outlook, and future prospects. 

Fortunately, as a publicly traded company, Portillo’s quarterly (form 10-K) and annual (form 10-K) earning reports, SEC filings, founders’ letters, product and business updates, as well as recent news releases can be accessed directly from its investor relations section. 

After weighing both the expected risks and rewards, decide whether you want PTLO stock as part of your investment portfolio.

Step 4: Decide how much you want to invest

Now that you’ve decided that Portillo’s stock is the right choice for you, you’ll need to determine how much you want to invest.

The amount of money you invest depends on the stock price and the number of shares you want to buy. If the share price of a stock you’re interested in is financially out of reach, you can also explore fractional shares. Fractional shares allow you to purchase shares on the dollar amount you’re comfortable with, so you may end up with less than a whole share, a whole share, or more than a whole share.

Because investing can have unpredictable returns, it’s essential only to invest what you can afford to lose and to be mindful of your risk appetite.

Step 5: Place your order and buy Portillo’s stock

Once you decide on the number of shares or the dollar amount you’d like to purchase, you can place your order. If you’re working with an advisor, tell them you’d like to buy Portillo’s stock and how much you can invest, and they’ll do it for you. If using a brokerage account, simply log in and enter the ticker PTLO in the search bar. 

There are a few different execution options to choose from, including:

  • Market order: A market order is an order to buy the stock at the current market price that is generally executed immediately (subject to availability);
  • Limit order: A limit order is processed once the stock reaches your specified price. For example, imagine you want to buy Portillo’s stock at $20 or lower. You would then set the limit price at $20, and the order will only execute when the stock reaches the set price or lower;
  • Options contract: Options speculation allows for leveraged positions in a security at a fraction of the cost of the underlying asset. A call option allows the trader to profit if the price of the stock increases, and a put option enables them to profit if the stock price declines. Remember, derivative instruments can only be traded on a margin account, which typically has higher minimum balance requirements than standard brokerage accounts. 

Step 6: Monitor your investment

You want to keep sporadically inspecting the company’s performance by checking the same annual and quarterly reports you used to conduct your preliminary research.

So, while “set it and forget it” is a solid strategy for a diversified portfolio of ETFs, for single stocks like PTLO, investors should keep a close watch on press releases, company health indicators such as revenue and net income, foodservice industry performance (and factors that can influence it, e.g., a pandemic) as well as overall economic conditions. Then, depending on your financial goals, use that knowledge to reassess whether it’s best to hold onto the stock or sell it. 

You may also want to track the performance of similar stocks in the industry for comparisons, such as First Watch Restaurant Group (NASDAQ: FWRG), Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG), Chuy’s (NASDAQ: CHUY), and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE: CMG), to name a few. 

Portillo’s stock price today

Should I buy Portillo’s stock?

Besides looking at Portillo’s fundamentals, you can use technical analysis to evaluate the company and identify trading opportunities in price trends and patterns seen on charts. 

This gauge displays a real-time technical analysis overview for your specified timeframe. It can be a valuable technical analysis tool for many traders by simplifying trading decisions by demonstrating the real-time recommendations of popular technical indicators such as moving averages and oscillators.  

Disclaimer: TradingView does not recommend trading financial instruments based exclusively on the advice of the Technical Rating indicator. These recommendations cannot predict future movements and are meant as assistance for spotting potentially favorable buy/sell conditions if this is consistent with their strategy.

How to buy Portillo’s stock safely

Mistakes are expected when investing in stocks but can be avoided if you recognize them. For an in-depth guide on investing mistakes, we have compiled a list of 17 common mistakes and tips for preventing them. But, for now, let’s list some of the most typical ones:

  1. Not performing your due diligence on the stock;
  2. Having unclear financial goals;
  3. Attempting to time the market;
  4. Failing to diversify;
  5. Letting your emotions rule the investment decision-making process.

How to sell Portillo’s stock?

You can sell Portillo’s stock if you see the company performing differently than expected or after reaching your desired financial goal.

If you’re working with an advisor, they can create a sale order for you. However, if you have your own broker account, simply log on, navigate to the stock’s detail page, input the number of shares or dollar amount you want to offload, and tap sell.

Pros and cons of buying Portillo’s stock

So, now that we’re familiar with Portillo’s and how to buy its stock, let’s explore the pros and cons of investing in it.

Pros

Pros

  • Diverse access modes: Portillo’s offers drive-thrus, dine-in restaurants, catering, and delivery. 
  • Pandemic-friendly set-up: While the pandemic slowly passes into history, some consumer behavior shifts still persist. Fortunately, Portillo’s is well-positioned to benefit from a pandemic/post-pandemic customer that favors socially distant pickup as well as delivery options;
  • Established brand: The company has been going strong since the 60s and has a loyal fanbase.
Cons

Cons

  • Fierce competition: The restaurant market is oversaturated and can lead to weak traffic;
  • Adverse macroeconomic conditions: Inflation and labor shortage concerns;
  • No dividends: Portillo’s does not pay dividends to its stockholders. 

In conclusion

With the pandemic over in the minds of consumers, spending at restaurants has made an impressive comeback. However, the food service industry has been hit with new problems, including labor shortages, a rapid rise in inflation, and an uncertain economic environment that could sap demand. As a result, investors should carefully deliberate investing in a restaurant stock. 

So, as always, remember to do your own independent research and have solid risk management tools in place before entering the market. Ultimately, the goal of investing is to make money over the long term, so investors should focus on where companies will be ten years from now rather than short-term fluctuations in the stock market

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk. 

FAQs about how to buy Portillo’s stock

What is Portillo's?

Portillo’s is an American fast-casual restaurant chain that serves Chicago-style food such as hot dogs, Maxwell Street Polish sausages, char-grilled burgers, and Italian beef sandwiches. 

How to buy Portillo's stock?

Portillo’s is a publicly-traded company, and its stock is available on the NASDAQ exchange under PTLO, which means you can buy shares of Portillo’s through your brokerage account. 

Should I buy Portillo's stock?

Whether Portillo’s is a good stock to buy or a suitable investment should be based on your risk tolerance, portfolio size, financial goals, and market experience. So always conduct your due diligence before trading. Also, note that past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns.

Where to buy Portillo's stock?

You can buy Portillo’s stock from various online brokers such as Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and eToro.

When did Portillo's stock go public?

Portillo’s IPO took place on the 22nd of October 2021, when the company stock went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Highly Rated Stock Trading & Investing Platform

  • Invest in 2,800+ stocks and other assets including 70+ cryptocurrencies and commodities.

  • 0% commission on buying stocks - buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.

  • Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.

  • eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.

30+ million Users
Securities trading offered by eToro USA Securities, Inc. (“the BD”), member of FINRA and SIPC. Cryptocurrency offered by eToro USA LLC (“the MSB”) (NMLS: 1769299) and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. Investing involves risk, and content is provided for educational purposes only, does not imply a recommendation, and is not a guarantee of future performance. Finbold.com is not an affiliate and may be compensated if you access certain products or services offered by the MSB and/or the BD

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