Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 195,120 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 56.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,020 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 195,120 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.49% of El Pollo Loco worth $2,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 34.1% in 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 last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter worth about $120,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter worth about $106,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LOCO. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $12.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $380.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 1.49. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.15 and a 12 month high of $14.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.40 and its 200 day moving average is $11.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 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 the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $122.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.39 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.76% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Research analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at El Pollo Loco

In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari purchased 62,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.47 per share, for a total transaction of $777,654.14. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,089,404.14. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

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.