El Pollo Loco FY2025 EPS Forecast Boosted by William Blair

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair boosted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for El Pollo Loco in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $0.89 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $0.83. The consensus estimate for El Pollo Loco’s current full-year earnings is $0.79 per share.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.04. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 5.11%. The business had revenue of $120.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.03 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. El Pollo Loco’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LOCO. StockNews.com lowered shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted 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 Price Performance

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $11.96 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $13.35 and its 200 day moving average is $11.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. El Pollo Loco has a one year low of $8.15 and a one year high of $14.25. The firm has a market cap of $357.96 million, a P/E ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 1.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 5.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 197.2% in the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 491,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,785,000 after buying an additional 325,963 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,407,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 217,922 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 72,424 shares during the period. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 212,725 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari acquired 62,362 shares of El Pollo Loco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.47 per share, for a total transaction of $777,654.14. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 87,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,404.14. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158 in the last 90 days. 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.