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

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

Separately, 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 report on Friday, August 2nd.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.40. 112,536 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 284,639. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.08 and its 200-day moving average is $11.16. The stock has a market cap of $416.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 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 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari purchased 21,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.13 per share, for a total transaction of $279,997.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 159,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,834.33. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders acquired a total of 189,177 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,158 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LOCO. AdvisorShares Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 291.4% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 54,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 40,500 shares during the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at $7,746,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $302,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,648 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 14,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 77,008 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 21,230 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.