El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Rating Increased to Buy at Benchmark

Key Points

• Benchmark upgraded El Pollo Loco from "hold" to "buy" and set a $14.00 target, implying about an 11.14% upside from the recent price.
• The stock jumped about 15.8% to $12.60 on heavy volume (664,200 shares vs. a ~208,747 average), with a market cap near $377 million and a P/E of 14.4.
• Overall analyst sentiment remains mixed—the MarketBeat consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $12.63 (two Buy ratings, five Hold ratings), while institutional ownership is high at 81.28%.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Benchmark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $14.00 target price on the restaurant operator's stock. Benchmark's price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.14% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on LOCO. Truist Financial boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered El Pollo Loco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.63.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 15.8%

LOCO stock traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.60. 664,200 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 208,747. El Pollo Loco has a 12-month low of $8.29 and a 12-month high of $13.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.28 million, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth $945,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at $112,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at $149,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $123,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 154,589 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 6,056 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company's stock.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

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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