El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $13.51 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $420.16 million, a P/E ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.37. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.11 and a fifty-two week high of $14.25.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.76% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The company had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari acquired 21,325 shares of El Pollo Loco stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.13 per share, for a total transaction of $279,997.25. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 159,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,834.33. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have bought 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth $120,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter worth $1,735,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 384.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 175,670 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 139,375 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 49.8% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 217,922 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 72,424 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is currently 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.