Divisadero Street Capital Management LP Lowers Position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Divisadero Street Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 588,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 151,837 shares during the period. El Pollo Loco comprises about 1.0% of Divisadero Street Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP owned approximately 1.89% of El Pollo Loco worth $6,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,360,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,820,000 after purchasing an additional 20,907 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 67,368 shares in the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,746,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.2% during the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 491,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 325,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,407,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LOCO shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price 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.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $13.85 on Friday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.11 and a 12-month high of $14.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $430.74 million, a P/E ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.50.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.39 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 5.76%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at El Pollo Loco

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari acquired 62,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.47 per share, for a total transaction of $777,654.14. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 87,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,404.14. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought a total of 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.90% 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.