El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Raised 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 report report published on Monday.

Separately, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of LOCO stock opened at $10.35 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.87. El Pollo Loco has a 52-week low of $8.11 and a 52-week high of $11.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.89 million, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.11.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,176 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 1,074.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 9,264 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the third quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.