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

Key Points

• El Pollo Loco has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from eight brokerages, with three buys, one strong buy and four holds. The average 12-month price target is $14.875, below the stock’s reported opening price of $16.19.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.28 in earnings per share versus the $0.22 consensus estimate and revenue of $126.18 million versus $122.02 million expected.
• El Pollo Loco authorized a $40 million share repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 9.5% of outstanding shares, while insiders have sold roughly $7.4 million of stock over the past three months.

Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.8750.

LOCO has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Freedom Capital raised El Pollo Loco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Benchmark upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $16.19 on Tuesday. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $17.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.42. The company has a market cap of $492.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.34.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. Sell-side analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total value of $1,255,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,560,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,601,999.96. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 439,546 shares of company stock worth $7,418,740. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 1st quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the third quarter worth about $97,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco NASDAQ: LOCO is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken and complementary menu offerings. The company's signature product is its marinated, flame-grilled chicken, which is prepared in an open-flame rotisserie and served in a variety of formats including tacos, burritos, bowls and salads. In addition to its core chicken offerings, El Pollo Loco menu items feature fresh-made salsas, guacamole, sides such as charro beans and fresh tortillas, as well as a selection of beverages and desserts.

Founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, by Juan Francisco Ochoa, the concept expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first U.S.

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