StockNews.com Downgrades El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) to Hold

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LOCO. Truist Financial increased their price target on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock opened at $13.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $411.76 million, a PE ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 1.50. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.11 and a 52 week high of $14.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari purchased 43,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.59 per share, with a total value of $586,557.99. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 364,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,956,694.29. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 189,177 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,158 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the second quarter valued at $30,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 34.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the first quarter valued at $106,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 7.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.