El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Benchmark reissued a hold rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 2.2 %

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $11.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.05 and a 200-day moving average of $9.90. The company has a market cap of $363.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.48. El Pollo Loco has a one year low of $8.11 and a one year high of $12.60.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The business 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 10.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 285.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 6,176 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 26,059 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 6,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,360,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,820,000 after purchasing an additional 20,907 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is 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.