El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

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

Separately, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock opened at $10.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $311.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.44. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.17 and a 1 year high of $14.25.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. Research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 91.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,094 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 235.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 5,187 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.