William Blair Comments on El Pollo Loco Q1 Earnings

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair issued their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of El Pollo Loco in a report issued on Monday, January 20th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.19 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for El Pollo Loco’s current full-year earnings is $0.83 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for El Pollo Loco’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.24 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.21 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $0.93 EPS.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $120.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $11.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $341.62 million, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.47. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.17 and a 52 week high of $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.94 and its 200-day moving average is $12.48.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Biglari Sardar boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 489,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,703,000 after buying an additional 369,247 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 372.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 70,409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 55,510 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 worth $5,635,000 after purchasing an additional 75,542 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,056,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 60,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 30,143 shares during the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.