El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LOCO. Benchmark reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $13.67 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.80. El Pollo Loco has a 52-week low of $8.11 and a 52-week high of $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $425.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.50.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 5.76%. The business had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. El Pollo Loco’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari acquired 62,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.47 per share, with a total value of $777,654.14. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,404.14. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 189,177 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,158. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 1st quarter valued at $106,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiary, El Pollo Loco, Inc, develops, franchises, licenses, and operates quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco name. It operates and franchises restaurants located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and Louisiana. It also licenses its brand to restaurants in the Philippines.