Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $70,000 Position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,064 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $70,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LOCO. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,454 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,230,000 after acquiring an additional 34,399 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 593,425 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,130,000 after acquiring an additional 14,692 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 453,422 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,232,000 after acquiring an additional 159,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 411,298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,635,000 after acquiring an additional 75,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 198,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $10.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.09. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.17 and a 12-month high of $14.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.28 million, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco 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.