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

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Truist Financial increased their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.40. 112,536 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,639. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.11 and a 1-year high of $14.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $416.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.50.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.76% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The firm had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.39 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco

In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari bought 43,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.59 per share, with a total value of $586,557.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 364,731 shares in the company, valued at $4,956,694.29. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders bought a total of 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158 in the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $7,746,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter valued at about $4,407,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.2% in the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 491,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 325,963 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,735,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 384.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 175,670 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 139,375 shares during the period. 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.