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

StockNews.com lowered shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on LOCO. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 3.7 %

LOCO opened at $9.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.41. El Pollo Loco has a one year low of $8.29 and a one year high of $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $272.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.11.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $119.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. El Pollo Loco’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 198,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 61,201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4,840.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 22,508 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares during the last quarter. 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.