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

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

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

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $13.03 on Friday. El Pollo Loco has a 12-month low of $8.17 and a 12-month high of $14.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.85. The stock has a market cap of $390.12 million, a PE ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 1.50.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.04. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. The firm had revenue of $120.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari acquired 21,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.13 per share, with a total value of $279,997.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 159,241 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,834.33. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 189,177 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,158 over the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 5.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,323,373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,890,000 after buying an additional 67,368 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 197.2% in the first 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 during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,407,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 49.8% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 217,922 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after buying an additional 72,424 shares during the period. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 2.7% in the first quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 212,725 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. 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.