Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.30.
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of El Pollo Loco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Benchmark increased their price target on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered El Pollo Loco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th.
Get Our Latest Research Report on LOCO
El Pollo Loco Stock Up 1.9%
LOCO opened at $15.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.92. The company has a market cap of $463.14 million, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.77. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $17.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41.
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.29 million. Sell-side analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at El Pollo Loco
In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total value of $1,352,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,122,531.80. This represents a 54.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 194,257 shares of company stock valued at $3,264,264 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Biglari Capital CORP. purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,064,704. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth $41,716,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,013,373 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,905,000 after purchasing an additional 12,072 shares during the period. Tieton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the second quarter valued at $17,535,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 203.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,808,000 after purchasing an additional 426,320 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About El Pollo Loco
(
Get Free Report)
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco brand. The company specializes in Mexican-inspired meals centered on citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken, prepared using traditional cooking methods. Its menu includes chicken meals, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salads, bowls, family meals and a variety of side dishes, beverages and desserts.
El Pollo Loco was founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, and opened its first restaurant in the United States in 1980.
Further Reading
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