El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Announces Earnings Results

Key Points

• Quarterly beat: El Pollo Loco reported EPS of $0.25 versus the $0.21 consensus (beat by $0.04) and revenue of $123.52 million versus a $122.18 million estimate.
• Shares traded down to $10.88 (down $0.25) on above-average volume; the stock has a P/E of 12.36 and market cap of $325.86 million, but liquidity metrics are weak with a current ratio of 0.41 and quick ratio of 0.38.
• Analysts’ consensus is a Hold (average target $12.17) with one Buy and four Holds, and institutional ownership is high at 81.28% after several funds increased their positions.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 5.39%.The company had revenue of $123.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.18 million.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $10.88. The stock had a trading volume of 313,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,219. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $325.86 million, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.49. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.29 and a 52 week high of $11.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings 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. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,413 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,492 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 217,571 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 3,252 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered El Pollo Loco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.17.

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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