El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Upgraded to “Buy” by 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 Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price 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 Price Performance

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $13.81 on Thursday. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.11 and a 1 year high of $14.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.49 million, a P/E ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.36.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued 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 10.27% and a net margin of 5.76%. The business had revenue of $122.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari bought 21,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.13 per share, with a total value of $279,997.25. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 159,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,834.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $111,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.