First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $2.47 Million Stock Holdings in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,922 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,424 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in El Pollo Loco were worth $2,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LOCO. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter valued at $106,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at $111,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 1st quarter valued at about $182,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari purchased 43,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the insider now directly owns 364,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,956,694.29. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO opened at $13.73 on Friday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.11 and a 52-week high of $14.25. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $12.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.86. The stock has a market cap of $427.00 million, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 1.50.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $122.20 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.