El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate El Pollo Loco “Moderate Buy”: Three brokers recommend buying the stock, one strongly recommends it, and four rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $16.13.
• Shares opened at $14.51, down 5.2%, with a 52-week range of $8.98 to $17.40. In its latest quarter, the company reported EPS of $0.30, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue of $129.57 million fell slightly short of forecasts.
• The board authorized a $40 million share-repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 9.5% of outstanding shares. However, insiders sold 558,803 shares worth about $9.43 million over the past three months.

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.1250.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut El Pollo Loco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $14.51 on Wednesday. El Pollo Loco has a 12 month low of $8.98 and a 12 month high of $17.40. The company's 50-day moving average price is $15.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $441.54 million, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.78.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.29 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,122,531.80. The trade was a 54.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 558,803 shares of company stock worth $9,427,504. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 60.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,927 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 7,113 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter worth $4,187,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter worth $2,550,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter valued at $253,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company's stock.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: LOCO operates and franchises restaurants specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken. The company's menu includes citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken meals, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salads, bowls, soups, side dishes and desserts. It also offers family meals, catering and various limited-time menu items.

Founded in Mexico in 1975, El Pollo Loco expanded into the United States in 1980 and has developed a brand centered on freshly prepared food and open-flame grilling.

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