El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.
Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark boosted their price target on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.12.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on LOCO
El Pollo Loco Stock Up 0.6%
NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $15.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $472.88 million, a P/E ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.41. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $17.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.89.
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $129.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $130.29 million. Analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
El Pollo Loco announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at El Pollo Loco
In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total transaction of $2,286,910.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,644,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,948,787.33. The trade was a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 558,803 shares of company stock worth $9,427,504 over the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,958,000 after buying an additional 13,095 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,008,000 after buying an additional 451,575 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 7.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 188,519 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,942,000 after acquiring an additional 12,964 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the first quarter worth $221,000. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth $240,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company's stock.
El Pollo Loco Company Profile
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Get Free Report)
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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