Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 1,450 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.66% of El Pollo Loco worth $2,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in 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. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter worth about $153,000. Finally, Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $130,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Craig Hallum started coverage on El Pollo Loco in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO opened at $10.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $312.96 million, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.15. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.17 and a 1 year high of $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

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

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.