StockNews.com Upgrades El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) to “Buy”

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday.

Separately, Truist Financial upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of LOCO opened at $10.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $318.35 million, a PE ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.86. El Pollo Loco has a 12 month low of $8.11 and a 12 month high of $11.99.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $116.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.09 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 5.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 26,059 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 6,159 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 285.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 6,176 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 5.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 125,174 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 6,702 shares during the period. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 3.4% in the third quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 215,025 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 7,100 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.