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

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

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

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 0.7 %

LOCO stock opened at $12.82 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.57. 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 stock has a market cap of $398.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 1.49. El Pollo Loco has a one year low of $8.11 and a one year high of $14.25.

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

Insider Activity at El Pollo Loco

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari acquired 21,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.13 per share, for a total transaction of $279,997.25. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 159,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,834.33. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 17.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 5,112 shares in the last quarter. 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.