El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Receives Hold Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their hold rating on shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $10.42 on Monday. 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 has a one year low of $8.17 and a one year high of $14.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.44. The company has a market cap of $311.96 million, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.50.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. On average, research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at $1,146,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $320,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at about $165,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $170,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

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.