3,300 Shares in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Bought by nVerses Capital LLC

nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the second quarter valued at about $4,407,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 197.2% in the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 491,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after buying an additional 325,963 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,735,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 384.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 175,670 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,987,000 after buying an additional 139,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 321.8% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 145,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 111,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari purchased 43,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.59 per share, with a total value of $586,557.99. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 364,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,956,694.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 189,177 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,158. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock opened at $12.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $398.70 million, a PE ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.11 and a fifty-two week high of $14.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.57.

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