El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Truist Financial increased their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 0.5 %

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $12.61 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $392.17 million, a P/E ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.49. El Pollo Loco has a twelve month low of $8.11 and a twelve month high of $14.25.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. El Pollo Loco’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari bought 21,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.13 per share, with a total value of $279,997.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 159,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,834.33. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 321.8% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 145,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 111,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,323,373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,890,000 after acquiring an additional 67,368 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 797.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 102,257 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 90,860 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.2% in the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 491,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 325,963 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,735,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About El Pollo Loco

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.